NASA has awarded Exail a contract to supply critical photonics components for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission, a space-based gravitational wave observatory led by the European Space Agency. The contract, valued at approximately €3.27 million ($3.78 million), was issued through NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
Under the agreement, Exail will deliver qualification and flight models of lithium-niobate (LiNbO3) near-infrared phase modulators for LISA’s laser system. These components will form part of a Master Oscillator Power Amplifier (MOPA) laser architecture developed with NASA, which combines a low-power master laser with a fiber-optic amplifier.
The phase modulators will enable ultra-precise transfer of reference clock signals between the LISA spacecraft at around 2.4 GHz, a key requirement for accurately measuring the tiny distance variations caused by passing gravitational waves. According to NASA, the laser transmitter must remain exceptionally stable to detect signals from events such as mergers of neutron stars and black holes.
Exail’s contribution focuses on space-qualified electro-optical hardware designed to operate reliably in the harsh environment of deep space, supporting LISA’s planned launch in the mid-2030s.