LISA-inspired artwork

ESA’s Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission will be the first space-based observatory dedicated to detecting 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.

LISA is the first scientific endeavour to detect and study gravitational waves from space.

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 triangle will be 2.5 million km long (more than six times the Earth-Moon distance), and the spacecraft will exchange laser beams over this distance.

Led by ESA, LISA is a collaboration between ESA, its Member State space agencies, NASA, and an international consortium of scientists (the LISA consortium).

[Image description: Illustration showing two black holes merging and creating ripples in the fabric of spacetime. Some galaxies are visible in the background. In the foreground, the shape of a triangle is traced by shining red lines. It is meant to represent the position of the three LISA spacecraft and the laser beams that will travel between them.]