This cutting-edge technology is set to improve the measurement of ripples in space-time.
NASA has revealed the first glimpse of a full-scale prototype for six telescopes that will enable space-based detection of gravitational waves over the next decade.
The mission, called the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), is a collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).
Gravitational waves are disturbances in space-time caused by events like the merging of black holes.
LISA will detect these waves by using lasers to measure incredibly precise distances—down to picometers, or trillionths of a meter—between three spacecraft arranged in a triangular formation. Each side of this triangle will stretch nearly 1.6 million miles (2.5 million kilometers).
“Each spacecraft will be equipped with twin telescopes that will transmit and receive infrared laser beams to track the other spacecraft in the formation,” explained Ryan DeRosa, a researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “NASA is responsible for supplying all six telescopes for the LISA mission.”
The Engineering Development Unit Telescope, the prototype for these telescopes, will guide the development of flight hardware.
After its delivery, the prototype was inspected in a darkened clean room at NASA Goddard in May. It is made from a glass-ceramic material that maintains its shape across varying temperatures, with its mirror surface coated in gold to enhance the reflection of infrared lasers and minimize heat loss in space, enabling it to function efficiently at near room temperature.
Produced by L3Harris Technologies in Rochester, New York, the Engineering Development Unit Telescope showcases advancements in materials science. The primary mirror is made from Zerodur, a highly stable amber-colored glass-ceramic.
The LISA mission is expected to launch in the mid-2030s, setting the stage for revolutionary discoveries in astrophysics.