The Netherlands-China Low-frequency explorer (NCLE)
Abstract
Low-frequency radio astronomy in the frequency band below about 30 MHz can only be done well from space due to the Earth's ionosphere cut-off and man-made radio frequency interference (RFI) that make sensitive measurement from ground-based facilities difficult or impossible. The the Netherlands- China Low-Frequency Explorer (NCLE) radio instrument, on the Chinese spacecraft Queqiao, was launched on May 21st, 2018 and orbits the Earth-Moon L2 point, at roughly 64000 km behind the Moon. NCLE, the only radio observatory currently behind the Moon, is a unique instrument aiming to detect a wealth of science in the low-frequency radio regime: the pristine and faint signals from the Hydrogen in the Cosmological Dark Ages and Cosmic Dawn, the study of Solar activity and space weather at low frequencies, the measure of the auroral radio emission from the large planets in our Solar system, the determination of the radio background spectrum at the Earth-Moon L2 point, the creation of a new low-frequency map of the radio sky, the study of the Earth's ionosphere, and the detection of bright pulsars and other radio transient phenomena at very low frequencies. The instrument is sensitive in the 80 kHz to 80 MHz regime and is designed to have a number of dedicated science modes with pre-defined bandwidth and spectral resolution. The analogue and digital chain are designed and built by ASTRON and the Radboud Radio Lab (Radboud University), respectively. The NCLE design involves three custom-made design carbon fibre antenna units, each 5 meter long, which are fully deployable and retractable, produced by the Dutch Industry Partner ISISpace (Delft). Currently NCLE antennas have been partially deployed and the instrument is in the commissioning phase. Results from the first NCLE data will be discussed.
- Publication:
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43rd COSPAR Scientific Assembly. Held 28 January - 4 February
- Pub Date:
- January 2021
- Bibcode:
- 2021cosp...43E1525V