India’s PRATUSH Computer Could Detect Signals From the Universe’s First Stars: Report

A palm-sized computer developed by India's Raman Research Institute (RRI) is set to revolutionise the hunt for the universe's first stars. Named Probing ReionizATion of the Universe using Signal from Hydrogen (PRATUSH), this compact space payload, built using a credit-card-sized single-board computer (SBC), is designed to detect faint hydrogen radio signals from the “Cosmic Dawn”, when the first stars and galaxies ignited. Its small size also means it is relatively low cost and can be grounded on the far side of the moon, away from the Earth's interference, where it can make precise observations undisturbed in a radio-quiet zone. It is also said to drastically lower noise via advanced FPGA processing and work to process data efficiently.

PRATUSH System Poised to Unlock Cosmic Dawn Signals from Future Lunar Mission

According to a Times of India report, the SBC-based PRATUSH system supports one of the radiometers, the antenna, and the signal processor, which can realise the calibration and noise cancellation of the 352-hour lab-tested PRATUSH system. Its compact, low-power electronics are ideally suited for space missions.

Laboratory tests of the computer has reportedly shown encouraging results. Researchers reportedly collected 352 hours of data, and were able to bring down the noise levels to highlight that the system can detect faint signals from a period just after the Big Bang, when the universe just started forming.

Set to be commissioned for a future lunar mission, PRATUSH could provide a new aural instrument to listen to the universe's earliest whisperings.

If PRATUSH can yank these primordial signals out from the rest of the noise, scientists mention it will cast light on a fresh version of how the first stars influenced cosmic evolution — and possibly evidence of their own new physical phenomena.