Astrophysicists hail the dawn of radio astronomy from the moon
On February 22, the lunar lander Odysseus made a historic touchdown near the moon's South Pole. As it settled on the surface, it extended four antennas, ready to capture radio waves. This achievement is seen by CU Boulder astrophysicist Jack Burns as the "dawn of radio astronomy from the moon."
Odysseus, built by Intuitive Machines in Houston, faced significant hurdles to reach the lunar surface. Jack Burns, who co-investigates the Radio wave Observations at the Lunar Surface of the photo Electron Sheath (ROLSES) experiment, praised the lander for overcoming these challenges.
Burns will provide an update on the ROLSES data and discuss future prospects for lunar radio astronomy at the 244th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Madison, Wisconsin.
"Landing under these conditions and successfully deploying our antennas to collect data was a heroic feat by Intuitive Machines," said Burns, professor emeritus in CU Boulder's Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences.
The ROLSES experiment was led by Natchimuthuk Gopalswamy at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. This experiment featured antennas and a radio spectrometer designed to capture a wide spectrum of radio emissions from the moon and deep space.
Despite various mission challenges, ROLSES provided a novel perspective on Earth. "We observed Earth as if it were an exoplanet, a planet orbiting another star," Burns explained. "This perspective allows us to speculate on how our radio emissions might appear to an extraterrestrial civilization observing from a distant exoplanet."
Odysseus reached the moon through NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, aimed at facilitating private company spacecraft landings on the lunar surface. Although Odysseus managed NASA’s first "soft landing" through this program, it did tip over during the process.
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The mission almost failed due to multiple issues. For instance, Odysseus couldn't use its laser-guided navigation system on the moon's rugged terrain. Instead, operators at Intuitive Machines had to rely solely on the lander’s optical camera system for navigation, demonstrating remarkable skill.
During its journey to the moon, one of the ROLSES antennas overheated and prematurely deployed. While this was unplanned, it turned out beneficial. This fortunate mishap allowed the team to direct the antenna back at Earth and record radio waves from the planet for nearly 90 minutes.
Human technology, like cell phones and broadcast towers, constantly emits radio radiation. A similar experiment was led by Carl Sagan using NASA's Galileo spacecraft in the 1990s, but the data from ROLSES proved more comprehensive.
Burns mentioned that scientists could use similar methods to detect radio emissions from distant planets, potentially indicating signs of intelligent life.
Looking forward, NASA has approved a second ROLSES experiment, scheduled to fly on another CLPS lander around 2026. This is just the beginning of an exciting new era in lunar exploration.
Additionally, Burns is involved in another project under the CLPS program: the Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment-Night (LuSEE-Night). Set to arrive on the moon in 2026, LuSEE-Night will land on the moon's far side—a region shielded from human-made radio emissions. This location will allow it to study radio waves from the universe's early "Dark Ages," a period before the formation of the first stars, offering crucial insights into the early universe's evolution.
With NASA planning to send two to three landers to the moon annually, Burns is optimistic about the future. "This frequent landing schedule gives us opportunities to refine our instruments and learn from our experiences in a way reminiscent of the early space program," Burns said.
Odysseus' successful landing and the initial data from ROLSES mark significant strides in lunar exploration. As Burns and his team look to future missions, the potential for groundbreaking discoveries in radio astronomy from the moon continues to grow.
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