CosmoCube Mission

What is CosmoCube?

CosmoCube is a proposed lunar-orbiting mission designed to study the early Universe, particularly the cosmic Dark Ages.

Mission Concept

  • Lightweight CubeSat/similar spacecraft
  • Planned orbit: about 100 km above the Moon
  • Expected mission duration: around 2 years
  • Uses the Moon's far side as a shield from Earth's radio interference.

Scientific Target

The 21-cm emission of neutral hydrogen.

Cosmic Dark Ages

Period:

  • After the Universe became neutral
  • Before the formation of the first stars and galaxies

The mission aims to study approximately:
380,000 years after the Big Bang → first billion years

Why the Moon?

Earth has intense radio interference.

The Moon's far side provides a comparatively radio-quiet environment.

UPSC Concept

21-cm hydrogen line is important for studying:

  • Early Universe
  • First stars
  • Cosmic structure formation
  • Reionisation