Credits: Ben Wilcock/Blue Skies Space. Moon made using NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio
ROME/MILAN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2025: Blue Skies Space, a leader in the provision of space science data to the global research community, has secured a contract from the Italian Space Agency (ASI) to design a fleet of satellites that could orbit the Moon and map the early universe.
The project, named RadioLuna, aims to uncover whether a fleet of small satellites in a lunar orbit could detect faint radio signals from the universe’s earliest days—signals that are nearly impossible to pick up on Earth due to man-made radio interference. These signals, in the FM radio range, come from a time before the first stars formed, when the universe was mostly hydrogen gas. By listening from the far side of the Moon, free from Earth’s radio noise, scientists could use the satellites to uncover a missing piece of the puzzle in our understanding of the cosmic “dark ages.”
Dr Marcell Tessenyi, CEO and Co-founder of Blue Skies Space, said: “The idea for this project stemmed from the global efforts to develop the lunar economy. Programmes by space agencies such as ESA Moonlight or NASA Artemis can provide the transport, communication and timing infrastructure to projects such as RadioLuna. We are grateful to the Italian Space Agency for funding this activity with our project partner OHB Italia to explore novel ways of delivering exciting science.”
The study will establish the viability of operating simple and cost-effective CubeSats equipped with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components orbiting the Moon and will be led by Blue Skies Space Italia S.r.l., a subsidiary of UK-based Blue Skies Space Ltd. Project partner OHB Italia will be responsible for the definition of a viable platform in a Moon orbit.
“RadioLuna is a challenge where scientific ambition meets engineering pragmatism,” stated Roberto Aceti, Managing Director of OHB Italia. “We are proud to contribute to the development of an observatory that could open new frontiers in our understanding of the early universe, bringing to the mission our expertise and our M3 platform.”
Dr Tessenyi continued: “We started Blue Skies Space to capitalise on the changes brought by the NewSpace economy. RadioLuna is an excellent opportunity to showcase the benefits these bring to science.”
About Blue Skies Space
Blue Skies Space is a company pioneering a new model to deliver high-quality space science data in accelerated timescales to the global scientific community helping them to answer humanity’s greatest scientific questions. Through a fleet of low-Earth orbit satellites, the company aims to serve the global demand for high-quality science data across many research areas including the monitoring of stars, understanding what the atmospheres of faraway exoplanets are made of, as well as the composition of asteroids in our Solar System.
With offices in the UK and Italy, Blue Skies Space has assembled an experienced team who have previously worked at organisations such as NASA, Airbus, Surrey Satellite Technology, Caltech and UCL, bringing a wealth of expertise in space science, satellite engineering, satellite construction and operations.
Blue Skies Space’s first satellite, Mauve, will launch in October 2025 and is dedicated to monitoring stars in the UV and visible wavelength range.
Learn more about Blue Skies Space Italy: https://bssl.space/italy
About OHB Italia
OHB Italia S.p.A. is part of the European Space and Technology Group OHB SE, listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. OHB SE is one of the top three space companies in Europe, with 3,000 employees worldwide and total revenues of EUR 1.183 billion in 2023.
Founded in 1981, OHB Italia is today one of the two major satellite system integrators in Italy, with a backlog exceeding EUR 363 million and revenues of EUR 124 million in 2023.
With over forty years of experience in the space systems sector, the company is a nationally recognised leader in the fields of Satellites & Missions, Earth Observation, Space Situational Awareness (SSA), Space Surveillance & Tracking (SST), Equipment, and Scientific & Planetary Instruments. Its headquarters and 850 sqm Clean Room facilities are located in Milan, with additional offices in Rome and Benevento.
OHB Italia S.p.A. provides innovative solutions, combining the development and integration of complex equipment with a strong focus on customer satisfaction. The company employs 310 people, including staff and collaborators, with 82% holding university degrees – mainly in Aerospace Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Electronic Engineering, and Computer Science.
OHB Italia is Prime Contractor for key missions of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the European Space Agency (ESA), which are the company’s main clients, along with research institutes, universities, and the major industrial players in the space sector, with particular attention to the export market.