Technology
NASA Unveils LISA Prototype for Detecting Gravitational Waves in Space
NASA has unveiled the first look at a full-scale prototype for six telescopes designed to enable the space-based detection of gravitational waves over the next decade.
The mission, known as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), is a collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA).
Gravitational waves are ripples in space-time caused by events such as merging black holes.
LISA aims to detect these waves by using lasers to measure precise distances—down to picometers, or trillionths of a metre—between three spacecraft arranged in a triangular formation.
Each side of this vast configuration will span nearly 1.6 million miles, or 2.5 million kilometres.
"Twin telescopes aboard each spacecraft will both transmit and receive infrared laser beams to track their companions," said Ryan DeRosa, a researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
"NASA is supplying all six of them to the LISA mission."
The prototype, named the Engineering Development Unit Telescope, will serve as a guide in developing the flight hardware.
The prototype underwent post-delivery inspection in a darkened clean room at NASA Goddard in May. It is crafted from an amber-coloured glass-ceramic that maintains its shape across a wide temperature range, and its mirror surface is coated in gold.
This design enhances the reflection of infrared lasers and reduces heat loss in the cold of space, allowing the telescope to operate optimally near room temperature.
Manufactured by L3Harris Technologies in Rochester, New York, the Engineering Development Unit Telescope highlights advancements in materials Technology.
The primary mirror is made from Zerodur, an amber-coloured glass-ceramic known for its stability and precision.
The LISA mission is anticipated to launch in the mid-2030s, paving the way for groundbreaking discoveries in astrophysics.
-
Technology21h ago
Halloween candy binges can overload your gut microbiome – a gut doctor explains how to minimize spooking your helpful bacteria
-
Technology1d ago
Google, Microsoft seem OK with Colorado’s controversial AI law. Local tech not so much.
-
Technology2d ago
Wild animals can experience trauma and adversity too − as ecologists, we came up with an index to track how it affects them
-
Technology4d ago
Famous brown dwarf is actually twins orbiting each other
-
Technology4d ago
I Launched the AI Safety Clock. Here’s What It Tells Us About Existential Risks
-
Technology4d ago
Journalist banned from X after publishing JD Vance dossier
-
Technology5d ago
The Wild Robot: Technological brilliance meets artistic storytelling in DreamWorks' new animation
-
Technology5d ago
Google selects two Pakistani startups for first AI Academy in APAC