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Main Authors: Trippe, James, Polidan, Ronald, Creighton, Teviet, Lognonné, Philippe, Panning, Mark, Quetschke, Volker, Izquierdo, Kris, Shapiro, Brett, Jani, Karan
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.02405
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author Trippe, James
Polidan, Ronald
Creighton, Teviet
Lognonné, Philippe
Panning, Mark
Quetschke, Volker
Izquierdo, Kris
Shapiro, Brett
Jani, Karan
author_facet Trippe, James
Polidan, Ronald
Creighton, Teviet
Lognonné, Philippe
Panning, Mark
Quetschke, Volker
Izquierdo, Kris
Shapiro, Brett
Jani, Karan
contents The Earth's Moon presents a uniquely advantageous environment for detecting astrophysical gravitational waves (GWs), particularly in the scientifically interesting deciHz regime. The Laser Interferometer Lunar Antennae (LILA) project plans to perform GW measurements on the lunar surface, using the Moon's unique seismic quietness to access the deciHz regime. Two mission concepts are considered: the initial LILA-Pioneer L-shaped strainmeter and the more advanced LILA-Horizon triangular interferometer. Because the detection frequency is so low, LILA requires only the Moon's precession around the Earth and Sun to triangulate (unlike Earth-based detectors). Thus, the science return of LILA is site-agnostic; however, significant constraints are imposed by practical considerations. These include the need for isolation from anthropogenic noise, protection from the lunar environment, accessibility for lunar terrain vehicles, and line-of-sight. Candidate sites are shown for both LILA-Pioneer and LILA-Horizon, demonstrating that many options exist for deployment of both tools.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_02405
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Site selection constraints and options for LILA-Pioneer and LILA-Horizon
Trippe, James
Polidan, Ronald
Creighton, Teviet
Lognonné, Philippe
Panning, Mark
Quetschke, Volker
Izquierdo, Kris
Shapiro, Brett
Jani, Karan
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
The Earth's Moon presents a uniquely advantageous environment for detecting astrophysical gravitational waves (GWs), particularly in the scientifically interesting deciHz regime. The Laser Interferometer Lunar Antennae (LILA) project plans to perform GW measurements on the lunar surface, using the Moon's unique seismic quietness to access the deciHz regime. Two mission concepts are considered: the initial LILA-Pioneer L-shaped strainmeter and the more advanced LILA-Horizon triangular interferometer. Because the detection frequency is so low, LILA requires only the Moon's precession around the Earth and Sun to triangulate (unlike Earth-based detectors). Thus, the science return of LILA is site-agnostic; however, significant constraints are imposed by practical considerations. These include the need for isolation from anthropogenic noise, protection from the lunar environment, accessibility for lunar terrain vehicles, and line-of-sight. Candidate sites are shown for both LILA-Pioneer and LILA-Horizon, demonstrating that many options exist for deployment of both tools.
title Site selection constraints and options for LILA-Pioneer and LILA-Horizon
topic Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.02405