Great Observatory for Long Wavelengths (GO-LoW) NIAC Phase I Final Report

TL;DR

The GO-LoW project proposes a revolutionary space-based interferometric mega-constellation for low-frequency radio astronomy, enabling high-resolution observations below Earth's ionosphere, with benefits like reliability, scalability, and cost-effectiveness.

Contribution

This report introduces the concept of a distributed, reconfigurable mega-constellation for low-frequency radio astronomy, diverging from traditional single-spacecraft designs and enabling advanced science goals.

Findings

Design of antenna and sensitivity analysis

Architecture for constellation communication and launch

Technology roadmap for phased development

Abstract

The low-frequency sky below $\sim$15 MHz (20 m) is obscured by the Earth's ionosphere, the layer of charged particles above the neutral atmosphere. Single spacecraft have made measurements in this band, but cannot achieve high or even moderate angular resolution because a telescope's resolution ($\theta$) is set by $\theta = \lambda/D$, where $\lambda$ is the wavelength and $D$ is the telescope diameter. For wavelengths that range from tens of meters to kilometers, a telescope must be hundreds of meters to many kilometers in diameter for even moderate resolution. The Great Observatory for Long Wavelengths (GO-LoW) is an interferometric mega-constellation space telescope operating between 300 kHz and 15 MHz. In a departure from the traditional approach of a single, large, expensive spacecraft (e.g., HST, Chandra, JWST), GO-LoW is an interferometric Great Observatory comprising thousands of small, inexpensive, and reconfigurable nodes. A distributed constellation of sensing elements provides (1) reliability and robustness to failures, (2) longevity by allowing for growth over time and infusion of new technology via staged replacement of nodes, (3) reduced costs through leveraging mass production, and (4) formation reconfigurability to optimize the observatory for diverse science cases. A low-frequency mega-constellation revolutionizes a number of compelling science cases: high-resolution all-sky mapping, Dark Ages/Epoch of Reionization cosmology, interstellar medium mapping, solar/planetary magnetic activity, and exoplanetary magnetospheric radio emission. This report summarizes GO-LoW's concept development under NASA's NIAC Phase I program. We discuss antenna design and sensitivity, constellation architecture, including communication and launch infrastructure, interferometric correlation and a technology roadmap.