Examining the optical bench for contamination.
Scientists at the University of Glasgow's Institute for Gravitational Research (IGR) have successfully concluded extensive testing of a vital component of a future space mission. The optical bench of the LISA Pathfinder (LPF) mission is the super-sensitive heart of a technology demonstrator mission which will pave the way for a future detector to measure gravitational waves. These ripples in spacetime are caused by massively violent astronomical events such as the collision of black holes and the explosion of dying stars. The IGR team in the School of Physics and Astronomy demonstrated that the high-precision sensor system is ready to survive tremendous forces of up to 35 times the gravitational acceleration on Earth during rocket launch. Dr Christian Killow, Scottish Universities Physics Alliance Advanced Fellow at the University, said: "With these successful tests we have reached an important milestone. The sophisticated laser interferometer performs superbly and is ready for its job in space. We are really excited that the LISA Pathfinder mission is now well positioned for launch in 2015." LISA Pathfinder is a European Space Agency (ESA) technology test mission that aims to prove essential key technologies for future space-based gravitational-wave observatories, which cannot be tested on Earth, but only in space.
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