Research report 2018 - Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Hanover)
Climate research with gravitational-wave technology
Authors
Gerhard Heinzel
Departments
Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik, Teilinstitut Hannover, Hannover
Summary
On 22 May 2018, the two GRACE Follow-On satellites launched into Earth orbit on a Falcon-9 rocket. The aim: to continue the GRACE satellite measurements, which is important among other things for climate research, by monitoring the Earth's gravitational field. On board: A laser interferometer from the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute; AEI) in Hanover, which will serve as a model for future missions and as a step towards the LISA gravitational wave observatory. The first very promising preliminary results are already coming in before the science phase.