FarView: An in-situ manufactured lunar far side radio array concept for 21-cm Dark Ages cosmology

FarView is an early-stage concept for a large, low-frequency radio observatory, manufactured in-situ on the lunar far side using metals extracted from the lunar regolith. It consists of 100,000 dipole antennas in compact subarrays distributed over a large area but with empty space between subarrays in a core-halo structure. FarView covers a total area of ∼200 km², has a dense core within the inner ∼36 km², and a ∼power-law falloff of antenna density out to ∼14 km from the center. With this design, it is relatively easy to identify multiple viable build sites on the lunar far side. The science case for FarView emphasizes the unique capabilities to probe the unexplored Cosmic Dark Ages – identified by the 2020 Astrophysics Decadal Survey as the discovery area for cosmology. FarView will deliver power spectra and tomographic maps tracing the evolution of the Universe from before the birth of the first stars to the beginning of Cosmic Dawn, and potentially provide unique insights into dark matter, early dark energy, neutrino masses, and the physics of inflation. What makes FarView feasible and affordable in the timeframe of the 2030s is that it is manufactured in-situ, utilizing space industrial technologies. This in-situ manufacturing architecture utilizes Earth-built equipment that is transported to the lunar surface to extract metals from the regolith and will use those metals to manufacture most of the array components: dipole antennas, power lines, and silicon solar cell power systems. This approach also enables a long functional lifetime, by permitting servicing and repair of the observatory. The full 100,000 dipole FarView observatory will take 4–8 years to build, depending on the realized performance of the manufacturing elements and the lunar delivery scenario.