Project Genesis: Repurposing Dark Matter Detection Technology for Direct Observation of Low-Illumination Planetary Bodies

Current exoplanet detection methods depend on stellar transits, radial velocity perturbations, or sucient reected illumination to register on conventional sensors. These approaches systematically miss bodies that do not align geometrically, exist beyond the illumination range of their host, or occupy regions where no bright reference source is present. This paper proposes Project Genesis, a space-based observation platform that repurposes cryogenic sensor technologies originally engineered for terrestrial dark matter detection experiments to achieve direct detection of dark or barely illuminated planetary bodies. These instruments, rened over decades to register energy depositions at the absolute threshold of measurability, represent the most sensitive thermal detection hardware ever constructed. By combining dark-matter-heritage sensors with active nulling interferometry for stellar suppression, deploying at the Earth-Moon Lagrange Point 2 (Luna L2) where ambient thermal conditions of approximately 40 K naturally complement millikelvin detector operation, and targeting observations with Dynamic Power Scaling (DPS) predictions exceeding 90% accuracy [1], Project Genesis creates a detection architecture with no parallel in current or planned missions. The platform transitions exoplanet detection from indirect inference to direct observation of inherent thermal emission, opening detection space to the full population of planetary bodies regardless of geometric alignment, surface reectivity, or proximity to a visible stellar source.