Tiny satellite will hide behind the Moon to catch the universe's first light
Tiny satellite will use the dark side of the Moon as a shield
A UK-built satellite the size of a carry-on suitcase could reveal what happened during the cosmic dark ages, the 150 million years before the first stars formed. Named CosmoCube, it will orbit the far side of the Moon, using it as a shield to block Earth's radio noise and listen for the faint 21-centimetre signal from hydrogen atoms. Over two years, it will gather 1000 hours of data, potentially unlocking secrets about dark matter and the universe's transition from darkness to complexity.
The far side of the Moon is really the only option: it solves multiple problems at once, opening a clear window to the very early universe.