DarkNESS: A skipper-CCD NanoSatellite for Dark Matter Searches

Alpine, Phoenix [Illinois U., Urbana (main)] (ORCID:0009000918326619); Bhatia, Samriddhi [Illinois U., Urbana (main)]; Botti, Ana M. [Fermilab]; Cervantes-Vergara, Brenda A. [Fermilab]; Chavez, Claudio R. [Fermilab]; Chierchie, Fernando [Buenos Aires, CONICET; Bahia Blanca, U. Natl. Del Sur]; Drlica-Wagner, Alex [Fermilab; Chicago U., Astron. Astrophys. Ctr.]; Essig, Rouven [YITP, Stony Brook]; Estrada, Juan [Fermilab; Chicago U., Astron. Astrophys. Ctr.] (ORCID:0000000215277956); Etzion, Erez [Tel Aviv U.]; Harnik, Roni [Fermilab]; Kim, Terry [Chicago U., Astron. Astrophys. Ctr.]; Lembeck, Michael [Illinois U., Urbana (main)]; Lim, Qi [Illinois U., Urbana (main)]; Rauscher, Bernard J. [NASA, Goddard]; Saffold, Nathan [Fermilab; Chicago U., Astron. Astrophys. Ctr.; Chicago U., EFI; Chicago U., KICP] (ORCID:0000000163589228); Tiffenberg, Javier [Fermilab]; Uemura, Sho [Fermilab]; Xu, Hailin [YITP, Stony Brook] (ORCID:0000000295282068)

doi:10.48550/arxiv.2505.16981

DOE OSTI · 2568577

DarkNESS: A skipper-CCD NanoSatellite for Dark Matter Searches

Alpine, Phoenix [Illinois U., Urbana (main)] (ORCID:0009000918326619)·Bhatia, Samriddhi [Illinois U., Urbana (main)]·Botti, Ana M. [Fermilab]·Cervantes-Vergara, Brenda A. [Fermilab]·Chavez, Claudio R. [Fermilab]·Chierchie, Fernando [Buenos Aires, CONICET; Bahia Blanca, U. Natl. Del Sur]·Drlica-Wagner, Alex [Fermilab; Chicago U., Astron. Astrophys. Ctr.]·Essig, Rouven [YITP, Stony Brook]·Estrada, Juan [Fermilab; Chicago U., Astron. Astrophys. Ctr.] (ORCID:0000000215277956)·Etzion, Erez [Tel Aviv U.]·Harnik, Roni [Fermilab]·Kim, Terry [Chicago U., Astron. Astrophys. Ctr.]·Lembeck, Michael [Illinois U., Urbana (main)]·Lim, Qi [Illinois U., Urbana (main)]·Rauscher, Bernard J. [NASA, Goddard]·Saffold, Nathan [Fermilab; Chicago U., Astron. Astrophys. Ctr.; Chicago U., EFI; Chicago U., KICP] (ORCID:0000000163589228)·Tiffenberg, Javier [Fermilab]·Uemura, Sho [Fermilab]·Xu, Hailin [YITP, Stony Brook] (ORCID:0000000295282068)

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Abstract

The Dark matter Nanosatellite Equipped with Skipper Sensors (DarkNESS) deploys a recently developed skipper-CCD architecture with sub-electron readout noise in low Earth orbit (LEO) to investigate potential signatures of dark matter (DM). The mission addresses two interaction channels: electron recoils from strongly interacting sub-GeV DM and X-rays produced through decaying DM. Orbital observations avoid attenuation that limits ground-based measurements, extending sensitivity reach for both channels. The mission proceeds toward launch following laboratory validation of the instrument. A launch opportunity has been secured through Firefly Aerospace's DREAM 2.0 program, awarded to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). This will constitute the first use of skipper-CCDs in space and evaluate their suitability for low-noise X-ray and single-photon detection in future space observatories.

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Alpine, Phoenix [Illinois U., Urbana (main)] (ORCID:0009000918326619), Bhatia, Samriddhi [Illinois U., Urbana (main)], Botti, Ana M. [Fermilab], Cervantes-Vergara, Brenda A. [Fermilab], Chavez, Claudio R. [Fermilab], Chierchie, Fernando [Buenos Aires, CONICET; Bahia Blanca, U. Natl. Del Sur], Drlica-Wagner, Alex [Fermilab; Chicago U., Astron. Astrophys. Ctr.], Essig, Rouven [YITP, Stony Brook], Estrada, Juan [Fermilab; Chicago U., Astron. Astrophys. Ctr.] (ORCID:0000000215277956), Etzion, Erez [Tel Aviv U.], Harnik, Roni [Fermilab], Kim, Terry [Chicago U., Astron. Astrophys. Ctr.], Lembeck, Michael [Illinois U., Urbana (main)], Lim, Qi [Illinois U., Urbana (main)], Rauscher, Bernard J. [NASA, Goddard], Saffold, Nathan [Fermilab; Chicago U., Astron. Astrophys. Ctr.; Chicago U., EFI; Chicago U., KICP] (ORCID:0000000163589228), Tiffenberg, Javier [Fermilab], Uemura, Sho [Fermilab], Xu, Hailin [YITP, Stony Brook] (ORCID:0000000295282068). 2025-05-22. DarkNESS: A skipper-CCD NanoSatellite for Dark Matter Searches. https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2505.16981

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