  The Far-side Array for Radio Science Investigations of the Dark ages and
Exoplanets (FARSIDE) is a proposed mission concept to the lunar far side that
seeks to deploy and operate an array of 128 dual-polarization, dipole antennas
over a region of 100 square kilometers. The resulting interferometric radio
telescope would provide unprecedented radio images of distant star systems,
allowing for the investigation of faint radio signatures of coronal mass
ejections and energetic particle events and could also lead to the detection of
magnetospheres around exoplanets within their parent star's habitable zone.
Simultaneously, FARSIDE would also measure the "Dark Ages" of the early
Universe at a global 21-cm signal across a range of red shifts (z approximately
50-100). Each discrete antenna node in the array is connected to a central hub
(located at the lander) via a communication and power tether. Nodes are driven
by cold=operable electronics that continuously monitor an extremely wide-band
of frequencies (200 kHz to 40 MHz), which surpass the capabilities of
Earth-based telescopes by two orders of magnitude. Achieving this
ground-breaking capability requires a robust deployment strategy on the lunar
surface, which is feasible with existing, high TRL technologies (demonstrated
or under active development) and is capable of delivery to the surface on
next-generation commercial landers, such as Blue Origin's Blue Moon Lander.
This paper presents an antenna packaging, placement, and surface deployment
trade study that leverages recent advances in tethered mobile robots under
development at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which are used to deploy a
flat, antenna-embedded, tape tether with optical communication and power
transmission capabilities.
