Construction and testing of the MIST antenna

This article presents the construction and testing of the MIST (Mapper of the IGM Spin Temperature) antenna, a blade dipole optimized for radio astronomy in the VHF band. The antenna is made of solid aluminum panels and supported by fiberglass structures, operating without a metallic ground plane. For testing, reflection coefficient measurements were conducted at three different locations in Concepción, Chile. The results show a consistent resonant feature at 50 MHz. The portability of the MIST antenna and instrument makes them suitable for conducting observations from diverse remote locations. The main scientific objective of MIST is detecting the faint 21-cm signal produced by neutral hydrogen gas during the dark ages and cosmic dawn of the Universe.