The MegaWave Radio Surveyor

Abstract

Several Decadal-level questions in astrophysics, exoplanets, astrobiology, and cosmology can be addressed only at low radio frequencies inaccessible from Earth. The MegaWave Radio Surveyor would open this largely-unexplored region of the electromagnetic spectrum with a space-based interferometer to (1)~Track the space weather of other stars; (2)~Detect magnetically-generated emission from exoplanets to probe their interiors and assess magnetic shielding of their atmospheres; (3)~Probe the Universe's evolution during the Dark Ages via the highly-redshifted HI hyperfine line; and (4)~Assess the role of cosmic rays and magnetic fields in the cosmic web. An Astrophysics Strategic Technology & Research Accelerator (ASTRA) Initiative concept, the MegaWave Radio Surveyor's science objectives respond to the Pathways to Discovery Decadal Survey and three other National Academies studies, and it would serve as a Formative Era mission in the Enduring Quests, Daring Visions roadmap. Developments in U.S. space industries enable this observatory to be realized. The MegaWave Radio Surveyor would offer a versatile, scalable, and resilient architecture capable of sensitive and simultaneous observations below 45~MHz and unprecedented angular resolution at these frequencies. The concept builds upon NASA's Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment (SunRISE), Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS), and Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment (LuSEE-Night). The MegaWave Radio Surveyor could leverage multiple elements of the Artemis program, such as access to and beyond cislunar space and communications, and there are opportunities to infuse new autonomy/AI modes for mission operations. By opening one of the last windows in the electromagnetic spectrum and pioneering space interferometry at unprecedented scales, the MegaWave Radio Surveyor would establish a transformational capability.