DOE/LANL Jurisdiction Fire Danger Rating:
  1. LANL Home
  2. Media
  3. Newsletters
  4. STE Highlights
March 27, 2026

Advancing gravitational-wave discovery with LISA space mission

Scientist’s algorithms enable rapid multi-messenger astrophysics

Gravitational Feature 3
Depiction of LISA triangular constellation flying 20 degrees behind Earth in a heliocentric orbit, with infrared laser beams measuring the distance between to detect gravitational waves in space. Credit to: The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute)

Los Alamos National Laboratory physicist Grant Meadors was selected as a co-investigator on a NASA-funded project supporting the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). This space-based observatory is poised to uncover a part of the gravitational-wave spectrum that cannot be observed by ground-based detectors. Understanding invisible ripples in space caused by cosmic events will help scientists explain the physics of the universe.

Collaborating with principal investigator Michael Coughlin (University of Minnesota) and co-investigator Michael Katz (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Meadors will contribute to Preparing for Galactic Science with LISA. In anticipation of the 2035 space mission, this project focuses on integrating electromagnetic and astrophysical data into comprehensive gravitational-wave analyses.

Grant Meadors
Grant Meadors developed algorithms for characterizing gravitational-wave sources. Credit: LANL

How it works:

  • This effort builds on prior work at Los Alamos in which Meadors and collaborators developed efficient algorithms for characterizing gravitational-wave sources, leading to the release of the open-source APRICOTS (Averaged-Polarization Resampled Integrated Correlated Omnidirectional Test Statistics) code earlier this year.
  • By leveraging these advancements, the Preparing for Galactic Science with LISA team aims to significantly accelerate the identification of astrophysical sources, allowing timely multi-messenger and time-domain observations of transient events before they fade.

The big picture: Led by the European Space Agency with NASA as a partner, the LISA mission may see black holes swallowing stellar-mass objects and binary white dwarfs (the end stage of stars like our sun).

LA-UR-26-22419

Share

Stay up to date
Subscribe to Stay Informed of Recent Science, Technology and Engineering Highlights from LANL
Subscribe Now

More STE Highlights Stories

STE Highlights Home
Wildfire

How to improve wildfire prediction and response with Los Alamos models

Five platforms available for licensing

Anand Cover Design Front

Tiny droplets offer big potential for disease studies

Los Alamos scientists search for cancer-inhibiting microbes within micro-sized growth chambers

Cooper Michael

Cooper honored for engineering advances in nuclear technology

American Nuclear Society award recognizes early-career achievements

Probability Map

Oxygen isotopes can trace where uranium oxides were made — and where they’ve been

Countering nuclear smuggling through chemistry and water signatures

Imap Hi Instrument Flight Model Card

Results are in: Los Alamos-led instruments advance science of the sun

One experiment captured an intense solar flare event

Exercise 1

What happened when a mock nuclear security crime met its match

Los Alamos showcased its nuclear forensics tools in a high-pressure drill

Los Alamos National Laboratory

P.O. Box 1663

Los Alamos, NM 87545

(505) 667-5061

At The Lab

  • Business Opportunities
  • Jobs
  • Organizations
  • Research Library
  • User Facilities

Information

  • Emergency
  • Ombuds
  • Reading Room
  • Resources
  • Science Museum

For Employees

  • AskIT
  • LANLInside
  • MyMail
  • Training
DOE White Seal
  • Terms of Use/Privacy

Managed by Triad National Security, LLC for the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s NNSA

Copyright 2026 Triad National Security, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Learn about the Department of Energy’s Vulnerability Disclosure Program