Three spacecraft to be launched into space to detect gravity waves

[Humodour]

The three space probes will launch and stay in a triangle formation with each other, firing laser beams accross the large distance between them and measuring results to see if any abnormalities show up.

 

 

This artist

[Orogun01]

Didn't NASA's budget got cut up? How are they going to afford it?

[Gorgon]

If they stop sending people and send probes and robots instead. I imagine that would be quite a bit cheaper.

[Humodour]

To clarify, LISA (this) is in fact 3 probes, unmanned. In terms of funding, LISA is a joint project between NASA (the USA's space agency) and ESA (the EU's space agency).

 

Further to that, Wikipedia notes this: "LISA was recommended in the 2010 U.S. National Research Council decadal report on astronomy and astrophysics as one of two large space missions to be implemented by NASA in the upcoming decade."

[Orogun01]

To clarify, LISA (this) is in fact 3 probes, unmanned. In terms of funding, LISA is a joint project between NASA (the USA's space agency) and ESA (the EU's space agency).

 

Further to that, Wikipedia notes this: "LISA was recommended in the 2010 U.S. National Research Council decadal report on astronomy and astrophysics as one of two large space missions to be implemented by NASA in the upcoming decade."

Ok what are they hoping to learn?

[Humodour]

To clarify, LISA (this) is in fact 3 probes, unmanned. In terms of funding, LISA is a joint project between NASA (the USA's space agency) and ESA (the EU's space agency).

 

Further to that, Wikipedia notes this: "LISA was recommended in the 2010 U.S. National Research Council decadal report on astronomy and astrophysics as one of two large space missions to be implemented by NASA in the upcoming decade."

Ok what are they hoping to learn?

 

As mentioned in my first post, this is an experiment to detect gravity waves and in doing so learn more about black holes, pulsars, anything that produces gravity waves. It's quite similar really to things like Hubble, the SKA, LOFAR.

 

You can read about the earth-based prototype (LIGO) for this larger space-based experiment (LISA) here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LIGO

Edited November 28, 2010 by Krezack

[cronicler]

Ok what are they hoping to learn?

 

 

To put it in the simplest terms, the aim is to learn how gravity really works and what causes hiccups. Hiccups will lead to "what can be used to modify gravity in a controlled fashion". one of the baby steps on the way to artificial gravity generation, so to speak.

[Humodour]

Considering gravity is the single biggest unknown in physics, this is certainly worthwhile.

[Moose]

To the OP, they're known as gravitational waves. Gravity waves are something completely different.

[HoonDing]

NASA is wasting a lot of money when they could have just gone to the beach and look at them gravity waves.

[Humodour]

I was hoping we'd get to 10 posts before somebody pointed out my conflation.