The Beyond Einstein program is a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

project designed to explore the limits of

General theory of Relativity General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity, and as Einstein's theory of gravity, is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of gravitation in modern physi ...

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

. The project includes two space observatories, and several

observational cosmology Observational cosmology is the study of the structure, the evolution and the origin of the universe through observation, using instruments such as telescopes and cosmic ray detectors. Early observations The science of physical cosmology as it is ...

probes. The program culminates with the Einstein Vision probes, after completion of the

Great Observatories program NASA's series of Great Observatories satellites are four large, powerful space telescope, space-based astronomical telescopes launched between 1990 and 2003. They were built with different technology to examine specific wavelength/energy region ...

Constellation-X Observatory The Constellation-X Observatory (Con-X or HTXS) was a mission concept for an X-ray space observatory to be operated by NASA; in 2008 it was merged with ESA and JAXA efforts in the same direction to produce the International X-ray Observatory pro ...

(Con-X) and the

Laser Interferometer Space Antenna The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is a planned space probe to detect and measure gravitational waves—tiny ripples in the fabric of spacetime—from astronomical sources. LISA will be the first dedicated space-based gravitational-w ...

(LISA) have been promoted by NASA as the Einstein Great Observatories, to differentiate them from the current generation. However, they are not a part of the Great Observatories program.

Program missions

Einstein Great Observatories

* Constellation-X (Con-X) (cancelled - Merged with

International X-ray Observatory The International X-ray Observatory (IXO) is a cancelled X-ray telescope that was to be launched in 2021 as a joint effort by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). In May 2008, ESA and NASA e ...

(IXO)): the next-generation

X-ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...

space observatory *

LISA (

LISA Pathfinder LISA Pathfinder, formerly Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology-2 (SMART-2), was an ESA spacecraft that was launched on 3 December 2015 on board Vega flight VV06. The mission tested technologies needed for the Laser Interferometer ...

in 2015): a

gravitational wave Gravitational waves are oscillations of the gravitational field that Wave propagation, travel through space at the speed of light; they are generated by the relative motion of gravity, gravitating masses. They were proposed by Oliver Heaviside i ...

space observatory. The NASA component of this mission was terminated in 2011; within the

European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...

Cosmic Vision Cosmic Vision is the third campaign of space science and space exploration missions in the Science Programme of the European Space Agency (ESA). Formulated in 2005 as ''Cosmic Vision: Space Science for Europe 2015–2025'', the campaign succee ...

program, an evolved LISA has been chosen to proceed with a tentative launch date in 2034.

Einstein Probes

* Inflation Probe: designed to examine the

cosmic microwave background The cosmic microwave background (CMB, CMBR), or relic radiation, is microwave radiation that fills all space in the observable universe. With a standard optical telescope, the background space between stars and galaxies is almost completely dar ...

(CMB)

polarization Polarization or polarisation may refer to: Mathematics *Polarization of an Abelian variety, in the mathematics of complex manifolds *Polarization of an algebraic form, a technique for expressing a homogeneous polynomial in a simpler fashion by ...

; a follow-up to

Cosmic Background Explorer The Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE ), also referred to as Explorer 66, was a NASA satellite dedicated to cosmology, which operated from 1989 to 1993. Its goals were to investigate the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB or CMBR) of th ...

(COBE) and

Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), originally known as the Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP and Explorer 80), was a NASA spacecraft operating from 2001 to 2010 which measured temperature differences across the sky in the cosmic mic ...

(WMAP) * Black-Hole Finder Probe (BHFP): a complement to

(HTXS) * Dark Energy Probe: the

Joint Dark Energy Mission The Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM) was an Einstein probe that planned to focus on investigating dark energy. JDEM was a partnership between NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In August 2010, the Board on Physics and Astronomy of ...

(JDEM) was studied extensively in three different implementations: ** Supernova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP) - no longer under study. Superseded by the

Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (shortened as the Roman Space Telescope, Roman, or RST) is a NASA infrared space telescope in development and scheduled to launch to a Sun–Earth L2 orbit by May 2027. It is named after former NASA Chie ...

(Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope) ** Dark Energy Space Telescope (Destiny) - no longer under study. Superseded by the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (shortened as the Roman Space Telescope, Roman, or RST) is a NASA infrared space telescope in development and scheduled to launch to a Sun–Earth L2 orbit by May 2027. It is named after former NASA Chie ...

) ** Advanced Dark Energy Physics Telescope (ADEPT) - no longer under study. Superseded by the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope) The science of the Dark Energy Probe was folded into the

(WFIRST) mission upon recommendation by a National Research Council committee in 2010.

Einstein Vision missions

* Big Bang Observer, a follow-up mission to LISA and Inflation Probe, also a gravitational-wave observatory * Black-Hole Imager (MAXIM): an X-ray observation of infalling gas at the event horizon of a black hole; a follow-up to HTXS and BHFP

References

External links