The Dark Ages (DA) provides a crucial window into the physics of the infant Universe, with the 21-cm signal offering the only direct probe for mapping out the three-dimensional distribution of matter at this epoch. To measure this cosmological signal, the Dark-ages EXplorer (DEX) has been proposed as a compact, grid-based radio array on the lunar farside. The minimal design consists of a 32 × 32 array of 3-m dipole antennas, operating in the 7–50 MHz band. A practical challenge on the lunar surface is that the antennas may get displaced from their intended positions due to deployment imprecisions and non-coplanarity arising from local surface undulations. We present, for the first time, an end-to - end simulation pipeline, called SPADE-21 cm, that int egrat es a sky model with a DA 21-cm signal model simulated in the lunar frame and incorporating lunar topography data. We study the effects of both lateral ( xy ) and vertical ( z ) offsets on the two- dimensional power spectra across the 7–12 and 30–35 MHz spectral windows, with tolerance thresholds derived only for the latter. Our results show that positional offsets bias the power spectrum by 10–30 per cent relative to the expected 21-cm power spectrum during DA. Lateral offsets within σxy /λ ≲ 0 . 027 (at 32.5 MHz) keep the fraction of Fourier modes with strong contamination ( > 50 per cent of the signal) to less than 1 per cent, whereas vertical height offsets affect a larger fraction. This conclusion holds for the 21-cm window with k > 0 . 5 h cMpc −1 over the range of k ⊥ = 0 . 003 - 0 . 009 h cMpc −1 .

The deployment of a large radio telescope array on the Moon represents a transformative leap for both scientific discovery and technological innovation. The Dark-Ages EXplorer (DEX) concept envisions a large-scale, low-frequency radio array on the lunar surface, capable of conducting groundbreaking observations of the early Universe. Achieving this ambitious goal requires an array of 1000-100,000 antennas, along with novel hardware and software platforms, posing significant engineering challenges. Historically, radio astronomy has been a catalyst for technological progress, and the advancements required for DEX could serve as foundational technologies for a wide range of applications. These innovations aim to enable new scientific discoveries while also supporting a sustainable human presence on the Moon and terrestrial applications. In this paper, we present key technological challenges identified in the recent Concurrent Design Facility (CDF) study, done in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA). Technological developments needed to bring DEX to reality have broader applications for future research and commercial activities on the Moon, including energy distribution, autonomous systems, thermal management, communications networks, software development, data management, signal processing, AI/ML and distributed optimisation. By addressing these challenges, we aim to foster cross-sector collaboration and accelerate the development of technologies essential for a sustainable and scientifically productive future on the Moon. Thus, DEX serves not only as an observatory but also as a building block for sustainable lunar exploration and development.

The past two decades have witnessed a renewed interest in low frequency radio astronomy, with a particular focus on frequencies above 30 MHz e.g., LOFAR (LOw Frequency ARray) in the Netherlands and its European extension ILT, the International LOFAR Telescope. However, at frequencies below 30 MHz, Earth-based observations are limited due to a combination of severe ionospheric distortions, almost full reflection of radio waves below 10 MHz, solar eruptions and the radio frequency interference (RFI) of human-made signals. Moreover, there are interesting scientific processes which naturally occur at these low frequencies. A space or Lunar-based ultra-low-frequency (also referred to as ultra-long-wavelength, ULW) radio array would suffer significantly less from these limitations and hence would open up the last, virtually unexplored frequency domain in the electromagnetic spectrum. A roadmap has been initiated by astronomers and researchers in the Netherlands to explore the opportunity of building a swarm of satellites to observe at the frequency band below 30 MHz. This roadmap dubbed Orbiting Low Frequency Antennas for Radio Astronomy (OLFAR), a space-based ultra-low frequency radio telescope that will explore the Universe's so-called dark ages, map the interstellar medium, and study planetary and solar bursts in the solar system and search them in other planetary systems. Such a radio astronomy system will comprise of a swarm of hundreds to thousands of satellites, working together as a single aperture synthesis instrument deployed sufficiently far away from Earth to avoid terrestrial RFI. The OLFAR telescope is a novel and complex system, requiring yet to be proven engineering solutions. Therefore, a number of key technologies are still required to be developed and proven. The first step in this roadmap is the NCLE (Netherlands China Low Frequency Explorer) experiment, which was launched in May 2018 on the Chinese Chang'e 4 mission. The NCLE payload consists of a three monopole antenna system for low frequency observations, from which the first data stream is expected in the second half of 2019, which will provide important feedback for future science and technology opportunities. In this paper, the roadmap towards OLFAR, a brief overview of the science opportunities, and the technological and programmatic challenges of the mission are presented.