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NASA Advances LISA Mission with New Telescope Test
Confirmed
In Short: Despite the proposed budget cuts, NASA and ESA continue to advance the LISA mission, with NASA taking the next step in developing a new all-glass telescope for the mission.
NASA has taken a significant step in developing a new all-glass telescope for the LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission, designed to detect gravitational waves, according to reports from NASA and Universe Today.
The LISA mission, a joint effort between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), aims to deploy a trio of satellites into an Earth-following orbit, creating a vast triangular array stretching 1.6 million miles on each side, as reported by NASA.
According to European Spaceflight, the White House has proposed cutting the majority of NASA’s support for the LISA mission in its FY2027 budget, despite Congress allocating $80.5 million for the mission. In May 2025, the White House’s proposed FY2026 budget sought to cut the agency’s science funding by almost 50%, which included eliminating the agency’s support for ESA’s LISA mission.
On September 30, 2025, ESA issued a call for proposals covering the development of LISA’s telescopes, as reported by European Spaceflight.
The new telescope will survey the skies with Hubble’s sharp vision but a field of view 100 times larger, according to Ipmnewsroom.
Alluxa, a precision optical coatings manufacturer, has contributed to the mission by providing coatings for the WFI's Prism, Grism, and eight science filters, enabling exceptionally accurate wavelength selection required for the mission's ambitious scientific objectives, as noted by Azooptics.
The new telescope’s development builds on the work of the ESA's Herschel Observatory, which operated from 2009 to 2013, and bridges the gap between near- and mid-infrared (NIR and MIR) observatories, like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and radio telescopes, as reported by Universe Today.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine recommended creating the mission class in its 2020 Decadal Survey, as noted by ExecutiveGov.
Hindustan Times (India) reported the death of Margaret Hamilton, the pioneering computer scientist who led software development for NASA’s Apollo program and helped build the technology that took humans to the moon, at the age of 90.
Ukdefencejournal (United Kingdom) reported that Babcock, a defense contractor, was awarded a contract for the design and construction of the U.S. Naval Columbia submarines programme, which includes the advanced manufacture of missile tube assemblies.
Both Hindustan Times and Ukdefencejournal reported on significant developments in space and defense technology, highlighting the contributions of various organizations and the importance of international collaboration.
The reports from NASA and ESA highlight the ongoing efforts to detect gravitational waves and the importance of international collaboration in advancing space science.
Background
NASA has taken a significant step in developing a new all-glass telescope for the LISA mission, designed to detect gravitational waves.
What's confirmed
- NASA has taken a significant step in developing a new all-glass telescope for the LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission, designed to detect gravitational waves, according to reports from NASA and Universe Today.
- The LISA mission, a joint effort between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), aims to deploy a trio of satellites into an Earth-following orbit, creating a vast triangular array stretching 1.6 million miles on each side, as reported by NASA.
- According to European Spaceflight, the White House has proposed cutting the majority of NASA’s support for the LISA mission in its FY2027 budget, despite Congress allocating $80.5 million for the mission. In May 2025, the White House’s proposed FY2026 budget sought to cut the agency’s science funding by almost 50%, which included eliminating the agency’s support for ESA’s LISA mission.
- On September 30, 2025, ESA issued a call for proposals covering the development of LISA’s telescopes, as reported by European Spaceflight.
- The new telescope will survey the skies with Hubble’s sharp vision but a field of view 100 times larger, according to Ipmnewsroom.
- Alluxa, a precision optical coatings manufacturer, has contributed to the mission by providing coatings for the WFI's Prism, Grism, and eight science filters, enabling exceptionally accurate wavelength selection required for the mission's ambitious scientific objectives, as noted by Azooptics.
- The new telescope’s development builds on the work of the ESA's Herschel Observatory, which operated from 2009 to 2013, and bridges the gap between near- and mid-infrared (NIR and MIR) observatories, like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and radio telescopes, as reported by Universe Today.
- The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine recommended creating the mission class in its 2020 Decadal Survey, as noted by ExecutiveGov.
- Hindustan Times (India) reported the death of Margaret Hamilton, the pioneering computer scientist who led software development for NASA’s Apollo program and helped build the technology that took humans to the moon, at the age of 90.
- Ukdefencejournal (United Kingdom) reported that Babcock, a defense contractor, was awarded a contract for the design and construction of the U.S. Naval Columbia submarines programme, which includes the advanced manufacture of missile tube assemblies.
- Both Hindustan Times and Ukdefencejournal reported on significant developments in space and defense technology, highlighting the contributions of various organizations and the importance of international collaboration.
- The reports from NASA and ESA highlight the ongoing efforts to detect gravitational waves and the importance of international collaboration in advancing space science.
What's still developing
- She said the impact on 16 of those missions could be mitigated through “good planning”, while three, LISA, EnVision, and NewAthena, would require specific recovery actions.
- Audio of the media teleconference will stream on the agency’s website at: Participants in the briefing, who will provide an overview of the mission and NASA’s contributions, include: Media interested in participating by phone must RSVP no later than two hours prior to the start of the teleconference to Molly Wasser at molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov.
- 15, to preview the agency’s contributions to JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission.
- The new mission class was established based on the recommendations of the NASEM 2020 Decadal Survey, titled " Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s " (Astro2020).
- The weird weather pattern didn’t show up in years of observations by NASA’s Cassini mission An image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope shows a 10-sided atmospheric wave surrounding Saturn’s south pole, as seen on August 29, 2025.
- The planet’s north pole has been marked by a distinctive cloud-darkening hexagonal jet of gas for at least 45 years — scientists first spotted it when NASA’s Voyager probes zipped past the ringed giant in 1980 and 1981.
- “It’s the ‘unknown unknowns’ that I think are the most exciting because each time that we’ve had a more technologically advanced telescope, we’ve been able to uncover new kinds of objects and made new discoveries about fundamental physics,” Choi said.
- Update: The Roman Space telescope was successfully launched and is on its way to its operating location at L2.
- The 42-foot-long 18,000-pound telescope is named for the late Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first chief astronomer who championed the value of space telescopes throughout her career and was instrumental in the development of the Hubble Space Telescope.
- Astronomers using South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope have directly detected faint radio emissions from neutral hydrogen gas billions of light-years away.
- Transient Secures Investment from Nasdaq Ventures to Advance Bank-Grade Governance for Enterprise AI Transient.AI (“Transient”), the secure AI operating system for regulated markets, announced a strategic investment from Nasdaq Ventures, joining lead investor NEXT Investors in the company’s Series A round.
- "We are incredibly proud that Alluxa's technology is contributing to a mission of this magnitude," notes Peter Egerton, president of Alluxa.