Berkeley Lab Engineer designs hardware for the moon’s unforgiving environment

Imagine survival in an environment of extremes: during the daytime, which is 14 Earth days long, temperatures climb to 127°C (260°F) while the relentless sun beats down with no cover. When night finally arrives, for an equally long interval, temperatures fall to -173°C (-280°F). The landscape is incredibly rugged, filled with impact craters and covered in a fine dust so sharp it resembles tiny shards of glass. Direct contact with Earth is impossible. Instead, all communication is relayed via an orbiting satellite. This is the environment on the far side of the Moon, where the Lunar Surface Electromagnetic Experiment (LuSEE-Night) – a radio telescope set to deploy there in 2026 – will attempt to reveal new information about the Dark Ages of the Universe.

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