Emulating Global 21 cm Cosmology Observations from the Lunar Far Side to Achieve Quick and Reliable Physical Constraints

LuSEE-Night – planned to launch in 2026/2027 – will be NASA’s first radio telescope on the far side of the Moon (Bale et al. 2023, in XXXVth URSI GASS), which is the most radio-quiet location in the inner solar system. This pristine radio environment is ideal for measuring the cosmological 21 cm signal from neutral hydrogen, which traces the evolution of the early universe, including the Dark Ages and Cosmic Dawn epochs $(z\gt15)$. The sky-averaged (i.e., global) 21 cm signal is highly sensitive to various astrophysical and cosmological parameters, and so constraining it will help decipher the physics of the first stars and galaxies and the intergalactic medium at earlier times than those probed by optical and infrared telescopes like Hubble and JWST.