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Mission Images

LISA Pathfinder overview

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Mission

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Artist's impression of LISA Pathfinder and its propulsion module after separation.

Credits: ESA

Objectives

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Artist's impression of the LISA Pathfinder spacecraft.

Credits: ESA

What’s special?

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Artist's impression of the LISA Pathfinder spacecraft.

Credits: ESA

Spacecraft

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Artist's impression of the LISA Technology Package (LTP) to fly on board LISA Pathfinder.

The partly transparent view reveals the two proof masses: 46-mm cubes of a gold-platinum alloy, housed in individual vacuum cans. The cubes serve both as mirrors for the laser interferometer (red light-paths) and as inertial references for the drag-free control system of the spacecraft.

Credits: ESA

Journey

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Artist's impression of the LISA Pathfinder propulsion module that will be used to for the spacecraft’s journey to its operational orbit at the first Lagrange point (L1) of the Sun-Earth system.

Credits: ESA

Last update: 14 November 2011

More about...

LISA Pathfinder factsheet

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