NASA demonstrated for a new gravitational wave detection mission in space. It is part of the telescope A mission led by the European Space Agency (NSA) in partnership with NASA.
The goal of the LISA mission is to place three spacecraft in a triangular orbit measuring about 1.6 million miles on each side. Three spacecraft will follow the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. Each spacecraft will carry two telescopes to track their siblings using infrared laser beams. These rays can measure distances up to a trillionth of a meter.
Gravitational waves are created when two black holes collide. They were first theorized by Albert Einstein in 1916 and By the National Science Foundation, Caltech, and the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Science Collaboration from MIT. A gravitational wave is detected when the three spacecraft deviate from their characteristic pattern.
The LISA mission is planned to be launched in the mid-2030s. Detecting gravitational waves could provide “tremendous potential” for better understanding the universe, including phenomena such as black holes and the Big Bang that are difficult to study by other means, according to the mission’s official website.
