NASA unveils new telescope that could potentially detect gravitational waves

NASA has released the first look at a full-scale prototype for six telescopes that, over the next decade, will be able to detect space-based gravitational waves – ripples in space-time caused by mergers. black hole and other cosmic sources.
This progress is part of the LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission, a collaborative effort between NASA and NASA. European Space Agency (ESA). The mission will use a series of spacecraft to measure small changes in distance across a vast array of configurations larger than the Sun – down to picometers or trillionths of a metre. The triangular formation of spacecraft will extend about 1.6 million miles (2.5 million kilometers) on each side.
Highlighting the critical role of the twin telescopes in each spacecraft, Ryan DeRosa, a researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said, “The twin telescopes in each spacecraft will transmit and receive infrared laser beams to track their companions , and NASA is supplying all six. Them LISA mission,
Central to this initiative is the Engineering Development Unit Telescope, a prototype designed to inform the construction of the mission’s flight hardware. The prototype, built and assembled by L3Harris Technologies in Rochester, New York, arrived at Goddard in May. Its primary mirror is coated with gold, which enhances the reflection of infrared lasers and reduces heat loss in the cold vacuum of space. This feature is important, because the telescope is optimized to function near room temperature.
The Engineering Development Unit telescope is constructed entirely from a special amber-colored glass-ceramic known as Zerodur, manufactured by Schott in Mainz, Germany. This material is renowned for its thermal stability, ensuring minimal shape distortion over a wide range of temperatures – an important characteristic for high-precision optical applications.
The LISA mission, scheduled to launch in the mid-2030s, promises to expand understanding by discovering gravitational waves, which are ripples in space-time caused by cataclysmic events such as merging black holes and neutron stars.