WP1.B Cryogenic systems for the LGWA pathfinder
The Lunar Gravitational-wave Antenna (LGWA) was recently proposed to measure surface vibrations induced by passing gravitational waves from astrophysical and cosmological sources.
Inertial sensors are under development with sub-picometer to femtometer precision in the decihertz band. It requires an emulator of the seismic and thermal environment to test and operate these sensors on Earth as part of a TRL6 requirement.
Building on a research facility at INFN-LNGS for the development of a seismic isolation system, we propose to augment the facility by a cryogenic system to emulate the <40K ambient temperature of a lunar permanently shadowed region. Furthermore, we propose to carry out a preliminary engineering study of LGWA and its pathfinder mission “LGWA Soundcheck”.
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DeadlineDecember 2025
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StatusOngoing
Entities participating in the activities
Financial resources 0.4 Million euro
| Faculty and researchers involved in project activities | 234,000.00 € |
| Calls for researchers, post-docs, and technologists | 0.00 € |
| Equipment | 148,637.99 € |
| Buildings/land | 0.00 € |
| Calls for companies | 0.00 € |
| Consultancies | 0.00 € |
| Indirect costs | 35,100.00 € |
| Title | Description/objectives | Entities | Expected month of completion | Status | Attachments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cryogenic system production | The first phase of the activities has started with the definition of requirements, design and optimization of the cryogenic system. The forthcoming phase will be devoted to the executive project of the cryostat. In the final phase the cryostat will be produced through external tenders and inhouse activities. |
GSSI | December 2023 | Nearing completion | |
| Cryogenic facility commissioning | Commissioning of the complete infrastructure of the cryogenic system. | GSSI | December 2024 | Nearing completion | |
| Preliminary engineering study of LGWA Soundcheck | Engineering tests of the cryogenic facility and study of the system capabilities. | GSSI | December 2025 | To be launched |
| Title | Description/objectives | Entities | Expected month of completion | Status | Attachments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering study | GSSI | ||||
| Task final report | GSSI |