NASA Tests LISA Development Units

  • Released Tuesday, January 27, 2026
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A prototype charge management device for the future LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission sits on a lab bench at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The device will reduce the buildup of electric charge on the gold-platinum test masses that float freely inside each of the three LISA spacecraft. The University of Florida in Gainesville and Fibertek Inc. in McNair, Virginia, are developing the device. Credit: NASA/Dennis Henry Alt text: An instrument rests on a lab bench. Image description: A silver box with red and black connector caps on one side rests on a white lab bench with a blue mat on top. Three black cables connect to the box and another yellow cable curls around it.

A prototype charge management device for the future LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission sits on a lab bench at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The device will reduce the buildup of electric charge on the gold-platinum test masses that float freely inside each of the three LISA spacecraft. The University of Florida in Gainesville and Fibertek Inc. in McNair, Virginia, are developing the device.

Credit: NASA/Dennis Henry

Alt text: An instrument rests on a lab bench.

Image description: A silver box with red and black connector caps on one side rests on a white lab bench with a blue mat on top. Three black cables connect to the box and another yellow cable curls around it.

In May 2025, engineers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, completed successful tests of prototype systems for the upcoming LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission.

The LISA mission, a collaboration between the European Space Agency and NASA, will detect and measure gravitational waves, ripples in the fabric of space-time produced by cataclysmic cosmic events such as crashing neutron stars and merging massive black holes.

Three spacecraft will make up LISA, flying 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). The observatory will enable the detection of gravitational waves that cannot be detected from ground-based facilities.

Each spacecraft will carry two free-floating cubes called proof masses, and all three spacecraft will connect with each other via infrared lasers. The lasers will measure the separation of the cubes to within a distance smaller than a helium atom, around a trillionth of meter.

Arriving gravitational waves from throughout the universe will minutely change the lengths of the triangle’s arms. The mission will capture these changes to tell scientists details about the source’s location and physical properties.

A prototype laser optical module for LISA rests on a table after testing at NASA Goddard. Xiaozhen Xu, an engineer with Miller Engineering and Research Corp., works in the background. The smaller box to the right is the laser electronics module. Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts Alt text: Spacecraft components configured for testing rest on a table. Image description: A silver rectangular box rests on a stainless-steel table inside a clean room. It has four rows of 13 indentations in the side facing the camera. Different colored wires and optical fibers connect to the box, and a few are fixed to the side with yellow tape. To right of the silver box is a smaller box with cables in a sleeve of silver-colored material. Behind the table is a large cylindrical silver vacuum chamber with its door slightly ajar. A person in a white clean room suit works in front of the chamber.

A prototype laser optical module for LISA rests on a table after testing at NASA Goddard. Xiaozhen Xu, an engineer with Miller Engineering and Research Corp., works in the background. The smaller box to the right is the laser electronics module.

Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts

Alt text: Spacecraft components configured for testing rest on a table.

Image description: A silver rectangular box rests on a stainless-steel table inside a clean room. It has four rows of 13 indentations in the side facing the camera. Different colored wires and optical fibers connect to the box, and a few are fixed to the side with yellow tape. To right of the silver box is a smaller box with cables in a sleeve of silver-colored material. Behind the table is a large cylindrical silver vacuum chamber with its door slightly ajar. A person in a white clean room suit works in front of the chamber.

Each of the three LISA spacecraft will have a laser system similar to the one shown here, with a frequency reference system and six laser heads. A laser head is the final element that touches the light and has two main components — the laser optical module (silver box at center) and the laser electronics module (gold box at right). The optical module generates the laser light that travels between the spacecraft and makes gravitational wave measurements possible. The electrical module provides power and control signals for the optical module. Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts Alt text: In a darkened room, laser system components rest on a table. Image description: A rectangular silver box rests on a silver table in a dark room. The box has four rows of 13 indentations in the side facing the camera. Wires and optical fibers of different colors connect to the box, and a few are fixed to the side with yellow tape. To the right of the silver box is a smaller gold box with silver-wrapped cables attached. Behind the table is a large cylindrical silver vacuum chamber.

Each of the three LISA spacecraft will have a laser system similar to the one shown here, with a frequency reference system and six laser heads. A laser head is the final element that touches the light and has two main components — the laser optical module (silver box at center) and the laser electronics module (gold box at right). The optical module generates the laser light that travels between the spacecraft and makes gravitational wave measurements possible. The electrical module provides power and control signals for the optical module.

Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts

Alt text: In a darkened room, laser system components rest on a table.

Image description: A rectangular silver box rests on a silver table in a dark room. The box has four rows of 13 indentations in the side facing the camera. Wires and optical fibers of different colors connect to the box, and a few are fixed to the side with yellow tape. To the right of the silver box is a smaller gold box with silver-wrapped cables attached. Behind the table is a large cylindrical silver vacuum chamber.

Engineers wrapped the prototype laser optical module in a thermal blanket before testing inside a thermal vacuum chamber. The module underwent six weeks of testing at hot and cold temperatures to ensure the system will work in the harsh environment of deep space. Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts Alt text: A box attached to many wires sits inside a large cylindrical chamber. Image description: A small box wrapped in orange foil material sits inside a large cylindrical silver chamber with its door open in a dark room. Multiple wires, cables, and optical fibers connect to the box, and some of these are also wrapped in foil. The chamber rests on a blue support structure, and the rest of the room is filled with silver and gold boxes and cables.

Engineers wrapped the prototype laser optical module in a thermal blanket before testing inside a thermal vacuum chamber. The module underwent six weeks of testing at hot and cold temperatures to ensure the system will work in the harsh environment of deep space.

Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts

Alt text: A box attached to many wires sits inside a large cylindrical chamber.

Image description: A small box wrapped in orange foil material sits inside a large cylindrical silver chamber with its door open in a dark room. Multiple wires, cables, and optical fibers connect to the box, and some of these are also wrapped in foil. The chamber rests on a blue support structure, and the rest of the room is filled with silver and gold boxes and cables.

After testing, Goddard engineers prepared the laser optical module to be removed from the chamber. The LISA laser head was designed and developed at Goddard, and companies in Pennsylvania and Virginia provided critical hardware components. Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts Alt text: A box attached to many wires sits in a large cylindrical chamber. Image description: A small silver box with indentations on one side sits inside a large cylindrical silver chamber with its door open. Many wires and cables connect to the box. The rest of the room is filled with silver and gold boxes and cables.

After testing, Goddard engineers prepared the laser optical module to be removed from the chamber. The LISA laser head was designed and developed at Goddard, and companies in Pennsylvania and Virginia provided critical hardware components.

Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts

Alt text: A box attached to many wires sits in a large cylindrical chamber.

Image description: A small silver box with indentations on one side sits inside a large cylindrical silver chamber with its door open. Many wires and cables connect to the box. The rest of the room is filled with silver and gold boxes and cables.

Xu and Michael Rodriguez, an engineer at Goddard and B&A Inc., carefully remove the laser optical module from the thermal vacuum chamber after testing. Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts Alt text: Two people hold a small silver box in a lab. Image description: Two people in white clean room suits and blue gloves hold a rectangular silver box with indentations on the side. Behind them is a large cylindrical silver chamber with its door open. To the left of them is another silver box and a bundle of cables wrapped in silver and gold foil. To the right of them is a blue tool chest.

Xu and Michael Rodriguez, an engineer at Goddard and B&A Inc., carefully remove the laser optical module from the thermal vacuum chamber after testing.

Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts

Alt text: Two people hold a small silver box in a lab.

Image description: Two people in white clean room suits and blue gloves hold a rectangular silver box with indentations on the side. Behind them is a large cylindrical silver chamber with its door open. To the left of them is another silver box and a bundle of cables wrapped in silver and gold foil. To the right of them is a blue tool chest.

Xu and Rodriguez work on the laser optical module. Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts Alt text: Two people work on a silver box in a lab. Image description: Two people in white clean room suits and blue gloves work on a silver box with indentations on one side. They are placing the box on a silver table covered in cables — some are blue, some are wrapped in silver foil. Behind them is a large silver piece of equipment.

Xu and Rodriguez work on the laser optical module.

Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts

Alt text: Two people work on a silver box in a lab.

Image description: Two people in white clean room suits and blue gloves work on a silver box with indentations on one side. They are placing the box on a silver table covered in cables — some are blue, some are wrapped in silver foil. Behind them is a large silver piece of equipment.

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NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. However, individual items should be credited as indicated above.

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This page was originally published on Tuesday, January 27, 2026.
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