Laser Interferometer Lunar Antenna (LILA)

The proposed Laser Interferometer Lunar Antenna (LILA) is the Lunar Labs Initiative’s answer to a pressing need in gravitational wave research and observation. Gravitational wave observation and detection offers a whole new spectrum of data about the universe and this innovation has prompted dozens of proposals for new and more sensitive gravitational-wave observatories. But, while ground- and space-based observatories like LIGO and LISA can give us a whole new perspective on the universe, they cannot access an important section of the gravitational-wave spectrum.

While space-observatories like LISA can measure very low frequencies and ground-based observatories like LIGO can measure higher ones, neither are capable of measuring the middle-ground frequencies between 0.1-10Hz. In fact, no upcoming detector can measure this “Missing Gap.” As a lunar observatory, however, LILA would be uniquely positioned to observe this range of gravitational waves.