Oct 2, 2026 · 18 min · 13 segments
Could a suitcase-sized spacecraft listen to the universe before the first stars existed? This week on *Time Across the Solar System*, Tess explores ten stories about one of astronomy’s most…
Our first story begins with something surprisingly small.
A spacecraft about the size of a carry-on suitcase.
It is called Cosmocube.
And its job could be enormous.
Scientists want Cosmocube to listen for a signal that began traveling through the universe more than 13.5 billion years ago.
This signal comes from hydrogen.
Specifically, something astronomers call the 21-centimeter line.
Hydrogen filled the universe long before the first stars switched on.
There was a period after the Big Bang when the universe contained matter, but almost no stars producing visible light.
The problem is that the ancient radio signal from that time is incredibly faint.
Radio stations, telecommunications, satellites, and even our ionosphere make this ancient whisper difficult to hear from the ground.
So Cosmocube has a clever plan.
For roughly 40 minutes during each two-hour orbit, Cosmocube could have one of the quietest listening positions available anywhere near Earth.
Over two years, scientists hoped to collect around 1,000 hours of observations.
And that gives us our first strange journey through time.
But the signal it is listening for comes from almost the beginning of cosmic history.
Sometimes you do not need to travel billions of light years to investigate the distant past.
You just need somewhere quiet enough to listen.
Our first story begins with something surprisingly small.
A spacecraft about the size of a carry-on suitcase.
It is called Cosmocube.
And its job could be enormous.
Scientists want Cosmocube to listen for a signal that began traveling through the universe more than 13.5 billion years ago.
This signal comes from hydrogen.
Specifically, something astronomers call the 21-centimeter line.
Hydrogen filled the universe long before the first stars switched on.
There was a period after the Big Bang when the universe contained matter, but almost no stars producing visible light.
The problem is that the ancient radio signal from that time is incredibly faint.
Radio stations, telecommunications, satellites, and even our ionosphere make this ancient whisper difficult to hear from the ground.
So Cosmocube has a clever plan.
For roughly 40 minutes during each two-hour orbit, Cosmocube could have one of the quietest listening positions available anywhere near Earth.
Over two years, scientists hoped to collect around 1,000 hours of observations.
And that gives us our first strange journey through time.
But the signal it is listening for comes from almost the beginning of cosmic history.
Sometimes you do not need to travel billions of light years to investigate the distant past.
You just need somewhere quiet enough to listen.
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