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By aiming to find and characterise dozens of habitable exoplanets through the technique of nulling interferometry, the LIFE space mission will produce transformational science. One of the key parameters for such an interferometric mission…
GRAVITY is a new instrument to coherently combine the light of the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope Interferometer to form a telescope with an equivalent 130 m diameter angular resolution and a collecting area of 200…
We present a graphical interface designed to demonstrate the techniques of radio interferometry used by telescopes like ALMA, e-Merlin, the JVLA and SKA, in a manner accessible to the general public. Interferometry is an observational tech-…
We describe an optical simulation program that models a complete, coupled-cavity interferometer like those used by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Project. A wide variety of interferometer deformations can be…
The Planet Formation Imager (PFI) is a near- and mid-infrared interferometer project with the driving science goal of imaging directly the key stages of planet formation, including the young proto-planets themselves. Here, we will present…
SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy mounted on-board a Boeing 747SP will open a new era in MIR/FIR astronomy. Starting in 2002, SOFIA will offer German and American astronomers a unique platform, providing regular…
The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) aims to observe gravitational waves in the mHz regime over its 10-year mission time. LISA will operate laser interferometers between three spacecrafts. Each spacecraft will utilize independent…
The Planet Formation Imager (PFI) Project has formed a Technical Working Group (TWG) to explore possible facility architectures to meet the primary PFI science goal of imaging planet formation in situ in nearby star- forming regions. The…
Interest in the study of magnetic fields and the properties of interstellar dust, explored through increasingly capable far-IR/submillimeter polarimetry, along with maturing detector technology, have set the stage for a transformative leap…
NASA's suborbital program provides an opportunity to conduct unique science experiments above Earth's atmosphere and is a pipeline for the technology and personnel essential to future space astrophysics, heliophysics, and atmospheric…
A major goal of modern astrophysics is to understand the processes by which the universe evolved from its initial simplicity, as seen in measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background, to the universe we see today, with complexity on all…
The LISA mission is the future space-based gravitational wave (GW) observatory of the European Space Agency. It is formed by 3 spacecraft exchanging laser beams in order to form multiple real and virtual interferometers. The data streams to…
The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) has recently concluded a set of engineering flights for Observatory performance evaluation. These in-flight opportunities are viewed as a first comprehensive assessment of the…
LISA is an array of three spacecraft in an approximately equilateral triangle configuration which will be used as a low-frequency gravitational wave detector. We present here new generalizations of the Michelson- and Sagnac-type time-delay…
The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is scheduled to launch in the mid 2030s, and is expected to observe gravitational-wave candidates from massive black-hole binary mergers, extreme mass-ratio inspirals, and more. Accurately…
A plethora of astronomical science cases can only be achieved with high angular resolution observations, and we can expect the number of these to grow as astronomers are constrained by the size limitations of single-aperture space…
Atom interferometry represents a quantum leap in the technology for the ultra-precise monitoring of accelerations and rotations and, therefore, for all the science that relies on the latter quantities. These sensors evolved from a new kind…
The future space-based gravitational wave observatory LISA will consist of a constellation of three spacecraft in a triangular constellation, connected by laser interferometers with 2.5 million-kilometer arms. Among other challenges, the…
Space-based gravitational wave detectors, such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), use picometer-precision laser interferometry to detect gravitational waves at frequencies from 1 Hz down to below 0.1 mHz. Laser…
We present the design, control system, and noise analysis of a 6-axis seismometer comprising a mass suspended by a single fused silica fibre. We utilise custom-made, compact Michelson interferometers for the readout of the mass motion…