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Engineers and scientists at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, completed tests this month on a second early version of a key element of the upcoming LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission.<\/p>\n
The LISA mission<\/a>, a collaboration between ESA (the European Space Agency)<\/a> and NASA, will use infrared lasers to detect gravitational waves<\/a>, or ripples in the fabric of space-time. The tests involved the frequency reference system, delivered by BAE Systems, that will help control the lasers connecting LISA\u2019s three spacecraft. The lasers must be finely tuned to make precise measurements \u2014 to within a trillionth of a meter, called a picometer.<\/p>\n The team tested the first version of the system in May 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cThe extensive round of checkouts on the frequency reference system last year were very successful,\u201d said Ira Thorpe, the project scientist for LISA at NASA Goddard<\/a>. \u201cThis second unit is identical, so our assessments this time around were less intense and preface a future cross-check of the two,\u00a0which is the gold-standard for checking the stability of the system overall.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to the laser system, NASA is contributing the telescopes<\/a>, devices to manage the buildup of onboard electrical charge, and the framework scientists will need to process the data the mission will generate.<\/p>\n NASA\u2019s contributions are part of the agency\u2019s efforts to innovate on ambitious science missions that will help us better understand how the universe works. LISA will also offer a major advancement in multimessenger astronomy<\/a>, which is how scientists explore cosmic signals other than light.<\/p>\n The three LISA spacecraft will fly in a vast triangular formation that follows Earth as it orbits the Sun. Each arm of the triangle will stretch 1.6 million miles (2.5 million kilometers).<\/p>\n Each spacecraft will contain two free-floating cubes inside called proof masses. Arriving gravitational waves from throughout the universe will minutely change the lengths of the triangle\u2019s arms. The lasers connecting the cubes will measure changes in their separation to within a distance smaller than a helium atom.<\/p>\n The enormous scale of the triangle will enable LISA to detect gravitational waves that cannot be found with ground-based facilities, such as those generated when massive black holes in the centers of galaxies<\/a> merge. Scientists can use the data to learn about a source\u2019s distance and physical properties.<\/p>\n The LISA mission is slated to launch in the mid-2030s.<\/p>\n By Jeanette Kazmierczak<\/a> Media Contact:
NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/a>, Greenbelt, Md.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Claire Andreoli<\/a>
301-286-1940
NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n