"NASA and European Space Mission to Detect Cosmic Ripples in Space"

NASA is collaborating with the European Space Agency (ESA) on the LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission, the first space-based observatory designed to detect gravitational waves. The mission, led by ESA with NASA contributions, will use three spacecraft flying in a triangular formation to measure how gravitational waves alter their relative distances. LISA will enable observations of gravitational waves produced by merging supermassive black holes and will provide a panoramic view to observe a broad range of sources within and beyond our galaxy. The spacecraft will track internal test masses affected only by gravity and continuously fire lasers to measure their separations with extreme precision.