DARE Mission Design: Low RFI Observations from a Low-Altitude, Frozen Lunar Orbit

Abstract: The Dark Ages Radio Experiment (DARE) seeks to study the cosmic Dark Ages approximately 80 to 420 million years after the Big Bang. Observations require truly quiet radio conditions, shielded from Sun and Earth electromagnetic (EM) emissions, on the far side of the Moon. DAREs science orbit is a frozen orbit with respect to lunar gravitational perturbations. The altitude and orientation of the orbit remain nearly fixed indefinitely without maintenance. DAREs observation targets avoid the gala…