LISA-inspired artistic visual

ESA’s Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission will be the first space-based observatory to study ripples in the fabric of spacetime. These ripples, which we call gravitational waves, are emitted during some of the most powerful events in the Universe, such as when black holes collide. The mission consists of a constellation of three identical spacecraft, flying in formation. They will orbit the Sun trailing the Earth, forming an equilateral triangle in space. Each side of the equilateral triangle will span 2.5 million km (more than six times the Earth-Moon distance), and the spacecraft will exchange laser beams over this huge distance. From its vantage point in space, LISA will capture gravitational waves of lower frequencies than is possible from Earth, uncovering events of a different scale – all the way back to the dawn of time. Led by ESA, the LISA mission is a collaboration between ESA, its member states, NASA, and an international consortium of scientists (the LISA consortium). The spacecraft is being built and assembled by the industrial core team led by OHB together with Thales Alenia Space.