LISA mission’s Science Diagnostics Subsystem successfully passes Preliminary Design Review

The LISA mission has reached a key milestone in its development. The European Space Agency (ESA) has determined that the preliminary design of one of its subsystems—the Science Diagnostics Subsystem (SDS)—meets all mission requirements. This means ESA has given the green light to proceed to the detailed design phase, which will involve testing the system’s first prototypes.

Researchers from the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC) at the Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC) are leading the Spanish contribution to this project, providing their expertise to the development of the SDS instrument. The project also counts with the collaboration of the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB) and the company Sener. 
 

ICCUB develops the radiation monitor for LISA 
 

The ICCUB team, led by Daniel Guberman, is developing the radiation monitor, a particle detector designed to measure the ionizing radiation flux affecting the LISA Test Masses—one of the mission’s most critical components. Owing to its unique design and location, the radiation monitor is also expected to contribute to fields such as Space Weather and Solar Physics.  

ICCUB researchers Roger Català and Andrey have led the design and implementation of both the electronics and mechanical systems, while Albert Espiña was responsible for the software and firmware.  

The simulations and experimental validation with prototypes were led by Marina Orta, with contributions from Pierpaolo Loizzo (INFN and visiting research fellow at ICCUB) and Roberta Pillera (INFN), supporting the development and validation of the system. One of the key components of the Radiation Monitor is the BETA ASIC, also developed at ICCUB by a team led by David Gascón. 
 

From concept to validation 

The LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission will consist of three spacecraft separated by 2.5 million kilometres that will form a gravitational wave detector, the first to operate from space. Each of the spacecraft will house a mass in freefall in its interior, which will allow, through laser measurements between them, the detection of the effect of low-frequency gravitational waves (0.1 mHz – 1 Hz). The mission will allow for the study of phenomena such as the merger of massive black holes or compact systems in our galaxy, and will expand our vision of the universe.

The SDS is one of the primary components of the mission’s payload led by Spain. In total, the SDS subsystem will put more than one hundred sensors into orbit to measure temperature, magnetic fields, and radiation. These will monitor environmental fluctuations from both the satellite and the interplanetary environment with extreme precision. Detecting gravitational waves requires measuring incredibly weak forces—on the order of the weight of a single bacterium. Therefore, the SDS’s role in distinguishing the effects of gravitational waves from environmental noise is critical to the mission’s success.

The successfully passed evaluation, called PDR (Preliminary Design Review), is the culmination of a process that formally began at the start of the year. The most decisive moment took place on 25 February, when the team travelled to the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), ESA’s technical offices in Noordwijk (Netherlands), to review and resolve the open points regarding this key mission system.

The LISA mission, led by ESA, receives funding from the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of Spain through the Spanish Space Agency (AEE).