China is planning to launch a Moon-orbiting telescope. Dubbed the Hongmeng Project, the mission could launch as soon as 2026.
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Telescope
The project involves a small constellation of satellites that will circle the Moon in the same orbit and would function as a radio telescope.
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Moon-orbiting satellites
This Moon-orbiting satellite constellation will comprise one "mother" satellite and eight mini "daughter" ones.
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Insights
The telescope's observations may provide insights into a period of time in the early universe, called the Dark Ages—the first few hundred million years after the Big Bang.
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Advantage
Researchers say setting up a Moon-orbiting constellation of satellites would be far more feasible than placing a telescope directly on the Moon's surface.