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SCIENCESaturday 5 December 2015
Europe probe tests tech for detecting ripples in space time
FRANK JORDANS This picture taken with remote point 1 camera and provided after its launch from ESA’s it would be visible with the
Associated Press space port in French Gui- naked eye, said Jennrich.
BERLIN (AP) — The European by the European Space Agency, ESA, shows the liftoff of Vega ana at 1:04 a.m. local time Instead, the real measure-
Space Agency launched (0404 GMT) Thursday. ments will likely have to wait
a rocket Thursday to carry VV06 rocket carrying LISA Pathfinder on Thursday Dec. 3, 2015 “We have a mission,” proj- almost two decades for
two cubes of gold and plat- ect scientist Paul McNa- the follow-up mission, pro-
inum almost a million miles from Europe’s Spaceport, Kourou French Guiana. The European mara said to cheers and visionally called LISA. It will
from Earth so scientists can hugs at the control rooms involve three satellites posi-
see how they’ll behave in a Space Agency on Thursday launched a rocket carrying two in Kourou and Darmstadt, tioned in a triangle 5 million
freefall — at a cost of more Germany, after receiv- kilometers apart from each
than $450 million. cubes of gold and platinum almost a million miles from Earth ing the first signal from the other. Together they should
What may sound like a spacecraft. be able to detect gravi-
frivolous enterprise is ac- so that scientists can see how they’ll behave in free fall — at a By mid-January, the probe tational waves caused by
tually the prelude to a far will have reached an orbit enormous objects such as
more ambitious mission that cost of more than US $450 million. (Stephane Corvaja/ESA via AP) about 1.5 million kilome- supermassive black holes,
hopes to measure ripples ters (930,000 miles) from like the one that’s thought
in space time caused by Earth observation, naviga- nology contractor on the Earth, where the pull from to sit at the center of the
black holes and other mas- tion and science at Airbus LISA Pathfinder mission. the planet’s gravity is bal- Milky Way.
sive objects lurking unseen Defense and Space. The The probe separated from anced by that of the sun. Jennrich said measuring
in dark corners of the gal- company is the main tech- the Vega rocket two hours The cubes — made from gravitational waves would
axy. gold and platinum to re- also allow scientists to peer
Also known as gravitational duce their susceptibility to through the dust and de-
waves, these ripples were magnetic fields — are then bris that obscures much of
predicted by Albert Einstein carefully released inside a what’s going on at the cen-
a century ago but have box that shields them from ter of the galaxy.
never been directly detect- cosmic particles and other By the time LISA is launched,
ed. interference that might af- ground-based experiments
In order for that mission — fect the measurements may have already suc-
tentatively scheduled for performed by a sensitive ceeded in detecting gravi-
launch in 2034 — to suc- laser. The laser is capable tational waves for the first
ceed, the European Space of detecting movements of time, said Toby Wiseman,
Agency first has to test less than 10 millionths of a a physicist at Imperial Col-
whether it can shield ob- millionth of a meter. lege, London, who isn’t in-
jects from external influenc- “Our biggest enemy is the volved with the space proj-
es well enough to measure light from the sun that hits ect.
the minute effects of gravi- the satellite and pushes it But because of the interfer-
tational waves. around,” said Oliver Jen- ence they suffer on Earth,
“We want to see whether nrich, a scientist working on ground-based experiments
we can create an environ- the LISA Pathfinder mission. will likely be limited to mea-
ment in orbit that’s free of To counter this, the satellite suring the extreme bursts
interference, and where uses NASA-supplied thrust- of gravitational waves that
we can conduct these ers capable of making tiny occur during rare, dramat-
high-precision measure- corrections to the probe’s ic events. “Space-based
ments,” said Michael Menk- position to keep it in the gravitational wave detec-
ing, senior vice president for right orbit and prevent tors will detect gravitational
the free-falling cubes from waves that are not acces-
Weather delays critical space station shipment crashing into the inside of sible by any other experi-
the box. This should provide ment: massive black holes
MARCIA DUNN day. Gusty wind prevented U.S. shipments since April. a near-perfect cosmic iso- at the center of galaxies
AP Aerospace Writer the unmanned rocket from That’s because of launch lation chamber to measure colliding and merging into
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. lifting off at dusk with 7,400 accidents by NASA’s two the effect of gravitational a larger black hole; smaller
(AP) — It’s another no-go pounds of supplies for the commercial suppliers. Still waves, said Jennrich. black holes swirling around
for the first space station International Space Sta- grounded in Virginia, Or- The LISA Pathfinder mission massive black holes before
supply run in months from tion. Thursday’s launch at- bital ATK bought another itself won’t detect any grav- falling in; and pairs of white
the U.S. For the second tempt was rained out. company’s rocket, the itational waves, though. Be- dwarfs in our galaxy,” said
day in a row, the weather The next opportunity is Sat- veteran Atlas, to get sup- cause the two 2-kilogram Gabriela Gonzalez, a pro-
at Cape Canaveral, Flori- urday. Once again, poor plies moving again and (4.4-pound) cubes are only fessor of physics and as-
da, delayed the launch of weather is forecast. fulfill its NASA contract. The 38 centimeters apart, any tronomy at Louisiana State
much-needed food and The six space station astro- SpaceX company also re- object big enough to af- University who works on the
other astronaut supplies Fri- nauts have gone without mains grounded.q fect their relative position LIGO detector near Livings-
would have to be so huge ton, Louisiana.q
