MOSCOW. Dec 28 (Interfax-AVN) - The Spectrum-M (Millimetron) astrophysical observatory the Khimki-based Lavochkin research and production center is building may join the search for extraterrestrial civilizations, Active Academic Advisor of the Russian Academy of Engineering Sciences Yuri Zaitsev told Interfax-AVN.
"The new Russian astrophysical experiment may help find extraterrestrial civilizations. The project is called Millimetron. The works have begun, and the launch is due in 2018," he said.
The observatory will be scanning the far space in the millimeter, sub-millimeter and infra-red ranges. The orbiting sub-millimeter observatory will have a ten-meter cooled antenna and the observation range from 30 micrometers to two millimeters.
This is the best range for solving many astrophysical and cosmological problems, Zaitsev said. The so-called relic space emission, Big Bang relics with the temperature of 2.73 K, can be detected in this range.
"Background radiation is minimal in the shorter wave range. Neither interstellar gas nor relic emissions will hamper the observations and researchers will see the farthest quasars and galaxies practically at the moment of their formation, right after the universe was born. Signals from extraterrestrial civilizations may also be received. The signals will not be distorted in short waves," Zaitsev said.