RadioLuna
Project “RadioLuna” aims to uncover whether a fleet of small satellites in a lunar orbit could detect faint radio signals from the universe’s earliest days. Such signals are nearly impossible to pick up on Earth due to man-made radio interference. The signals are in the FM radio range and come from a time when the universe was mostly hydrogen gas. This is described as the cosmic “dark ages”.
The study will establish the viability of operating simple CubeSats equipped with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components orbiting the Moon. It aims to leverage the Moonlight or Artemis programmes, from ESA and NASA, for lunar comms and wider infrastructure.
The value of the contract is unknown, but Blue Skies Space Italia, a subsidiary of UK-based Blue Skies Space, will be leading the project. Also, project partner OHB Italia – an Italisan satellite system integrators – will be responsible for the definition of a viable platform in a Moon orbit.
Blue Skies Space
The company is based in London and the Italian subsidiary in Milan.
“The idea for this project stemmed from the global efforts to develop the lunar economy,” said Dr Marcell Tessenyi, CEO and Co-founder of Blue Skies Space. “Programmes by space agencies such as ESA Moonlight or NASA Artemis can provide the transport, communication and timing infrastructure to projects such as RadioLuna. We are grateful to the Italian Space Agency for funding this activity with our project partner OHB Italia to explore novel ways of delivering exciting science.”
The company’s first satellite, Mauve, will launch in October 2025 and will be monitoring stars in the UV and visible wavelength range.
Image: Blue Skies Space
See also: Nokia completes prep for 4G/LTE cellular Moon network
