Firefly Aerospace, a company with Ukrainian roots, will deliver a vehicle to the backside of the moon that will give a glimpse into the Dark Ages of the Universe

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has signed a contract with Firefly Aerospace. The company, whose co-founder is Max Polyakov, a native of Ukraine, will deliver cargo to the far side of the moon.

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The contract amounted to $112 million. Under the agreement, Firefly Aerospace will deliver two vehicles for NASA to the back side of the moon, as well as launch a communications satellite into orbit. The mission is planned for 2026 and is part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative under the Artemis programme. The total payload mass is almost 500 kg.

Firefly Aerospace will send a vehicle called the NASA will build a telescope that can peer into the Dark Ages of the Universe and see what happened before the first galaxies appeared to the Moon. It is expected to give scientists a glimpse into the Dark Ages of our Universe. It is an unexplored period of time that began 380,000 years after the Big Bang and lasted until the first stars were created.

LuSEE-Night will attempt to capture relic radiation from the Dark Ages. It is one of the pieces of evidence to support the Big Bang theory. NASA scientists believe that the back side of the moon is the best place for the spacecraft, which will be built with the support of the US Department of Energy.

As you know, mankind has not been able to establish communication with the reverse side of the natural satellite. Therefore, in order to transmit the information gathered by LuSEE-Night, a repeater will be required. The Lunar Pathfinder communications satellite will take on this role. It was built by Surrey Satellite Technology Limited with support from the European Space Agency (ESA).

Lunar Pathfinder itself will need a dedicated vehicle to provide the link between Lunar Pathfinder and LuSSE-Night. This is the User Terminal (UT) communication system. It will be the third payload to travel to the moon's other side in 2026.

Source: NASA