The Great Observatory for Long Wavelengths Initiative

The Great Observatory for Long Wavelengths (GO-LoW) seeks to unveil the elusive low-frequency radio sky, previously inaccessible to ground-based telescopes due to the Earth's ionosphere and challenging for traditional space missions because of the requirement for enormous telescopes to capture meter- to kilometer-scale wavelengths. These low frequencies are vital for studying exoplanetary and stellar magnetic fields, critical to habitability assessments, as well as for understanding the interstellar/intergalactic medium and the cosmos' earliest stars and galaxies.

GO-LoW plans to deploy an interferometric array of thousands of SmallSats at an Earth-Sun Lagrange point, such as L5, to detect magnetic fields of terrestrial exoplanets by their radio emissions ranging from 100 kHz to 15 MHz. This innovative setup uses a Vector Sensor Antenna on each spacecraft, enabling a groundbreaking survey of exoplanetary magnetic fields within 5 parsecs of Earth.

Contrasting with traditional large, expensive spacecraft that rely on a single point of failure, GO-LoW introduces a resilient observatory model using many small, cost-effective, and replaceable nodes. These nodes employ interferometry, merging signals from multiple receivers across vast distances to create a 'virtual' telescope that offers superior spatial resolution without the need for large physical structures.

Our Phase I study highlighted the efficiency of a hybrid constellation architecture comprising small "listener" nodes for raw data collection and a few advanced "communication and computation" nodes for data processing and management, including timing and ranging. This design allows for effective data reduction and management, using laser communication to transmit data to Earth, where extensive computational resources are available for data analysis.

Further investigations will focus on developing a real-time, multi-agent simulation to support autonomous operations of a potential 100,000-unit constellation, refine scientific objectives based on simulation outcomes, and assess orbital dynamics for maintaining station positions at Lagrange points. The project will also refine a comprehensive technology roadmap over the next 10-20 years, setting the stage for a transformative leap in space exploration technologies and the potential for novel astronomical discoveries.