Chinese scientists have proposed the idea of establishing a radio telescope array on the far side of the Moon. According to South China Morning Post (SCMP), this array will consist of 7,200 butterfly-shaped wire antennas and they will be constructed over the next few years well into the 2030s.
The scientists reportedly detailed in the latest issue of the Chinese Space Science and Technology that the network of antennas will span 30 kilometres, boosting efforts to unravel the cosmic dark ages. Since it will be on the Moon, there will be no atmosphere to block the radio waves from planets, galaxies and black holes needed for the unraveling.
The construction of the array will be carried out leveraging China's upcoming lunar missions like Chang'e-7 and Chang'e-8 targeted for launch in 2026 and 2028, respectively.
Notably, the concept is somewhat inspired by NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts Programme under which the American agency aims to establish a radio telescope in a crater. The idea is to suspend a 350 metres wire-mesh reflector dish inside a crater using anchor wires deployed by cliff-climbing robots. Check out the video below.
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With the radio telescopes, China also looks to discover new potentially habitable exoplanets apart from learning more about the early universe. But the project has its fair share of challenges which includes finding a flat construction site in the rugged terrain of the lunar south pole.
According to SCMP, the array will be constructed in phases, with the 3-year-long first phase comprising 16 antennas. It will involve installing equipment, using the Chang'e landers, that will detect faint signals from the dark ages. The second phase will involve astronauts who will carry out the rest of the installation in the next three to five years. The third phase will see the full deployment of the remaining antennas with support from China's lunar research base which it wants to build in collaboration with Russia.
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