LISA Pathfinder

LISA Pathfinder is the revised name for SMART-2 or Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology-2, a NASA/ESA space probe to be launched in 2014. The aim of the LISA Pathfinder is to test technologies needed for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, a joint NASA/ESA gravitational wave detector. It will contain one arm of the LISA interferometer, shortened from 5 Gm (5 million km) to 35 cm. In particular, it will verify:

• Drag-free attitude control of a spacecraft with two proof masses,
• The feasibility of laser interferometry in the desired frequency band (which is not possible on the surface of Earth), and
• The reliability and longevity of the various components—capacitive sensors, microthrusters, lasers and optics.