Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Radio wave Observation at the Lunar Surface of the photo-Electron Sheath (ROLSES).
Image credit: Intuitive Machines

“We can clearly say that the dawn of radio astronomy from the Moon has begun!”

That’s the word from Jack Burns, a University of Colorado/Boulder astrophysicist. He is a co-investigator on the ROLSES instrument now on the Moon courtesy of the Intuitive Machines lunar lander, Odysseus.

ROLSES stands for Radio wave Observation at the Lunar Surface of the photo-Electron Sheath, designed to study the dynamic radio energy environment near the lunar surface.

ROLSES is a NASA-supported payload under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services, or CLPS, initiative.

The good news is that there was successful deployment of antennas for ROLSES and turning a spectrometer on to take good low radio frequency radio data.

Rough but productive landing of Odysseus Moon lander.
Image credit: Intuitive Machines

Working as expected

“This is the first for a NASA spacecraft on the Moon. We’re not yet sure how much data we have and how much science we can do,” Burns told Inside Outer Space.

The ROLES team notes that the radio instrument, built by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, is working as expected on the Moon.

“Furthermore, NASA has already funded and manifested us to fly an upgraded ROLSES-2 on another CLPS lander sometime in 2026,” said Burns.

Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment-Night (LuSEE-Night) to probe the “Dark Ages” of the early Universe.
Image credit: Firefly Aerospace

Dark ages investigation

In addition, the Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Explorer “LuSEE Night” radio telescope is scheduled to fly on yet another CLPS lander to be emplaced on the lunar far side in 2026 where researchers will attempt pathfinder observations of the Dark Ages of the early Universe.

LuSEE Night is a low frequency radio astronomy experiment and Burns is a LuSEE-Night co-investigator.

“So, lots to look forward to,” Burns concluded. “What we learn from ROLSES-1 will be folded into these next missions.”

Precursor astronomy 

In a related astronomical item, the International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA Hawai’i) reports its precursor ILO-X instruments onboard Odysseus has yielded data.

The ILO-X payload includes a miniaturized dual-camera wide and narrow field-of-view lunar imaging suite, developed by Canadensys Aerospace Corporation.

Two ILO-X precursor imagers mounted near the top of the lander.
Image credit: Intuitive Machines/ILOA

To date, ILOA has received 9 high-resolution and 105 thumbnail images from the ILO-X imagers. They will all be shared as soon as the data has been processed internally, stated ILOA Director Steve Durst in a statement.

One of the released images (below) was taken by the ILO-X gear during the Odysseus landing process. It shows the lunar surface, craters and dramatic shadows of the Moon’s south pole region, and part of the Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C spacecraft in high-resolution.

Image credit: ILOA Hawai’i