The LISA space mission, led by the European Space Agency (ESA), has just successfully passed its feasibility review (ending the so-called Phase A) and is therefore officially entering its preliminary design phase (Phase B).

LISA is an ambitious space project to detect gravitational waves from space (https://www.elisascience.org/). Consisting of 3 satellites 2.5 million km apart and forming a giant laser interferometer, LISA implements a set of complex metrological techniques and analysis methodologies that will guarantee the necessary performance to measure the tiny variations in the space-time fabric caused by the passage of a gravitational wave.

LISA was selected in 2017 as ESA's 3rd large mission, with a planned launch around 2034-2035. Some of LISA's technologies, in particular those concerning inertial flight, have been brilliantly demonstrated by the LISA Pathfnder mission (20215-2017). LISA's transition to Phase B is a crucial step in the development of the project, validating the technical feasibility of the mission and marking the beginning of preliminary design studies. The next major milestone for LISA will be the adoption review, scheduled for late 2023 / early 2024, which will give the green light for instrument realization.

With the support and under the supervision of CNES, France has positioned itself on the development of the infrastructure of the data processing centers as well as on the management of scientific performance and the definition and implementation of the ground support equipment for their verification. The APC laboratory is a major contributor to this effort, with the particularity of being involved in all aspects of LISA, from the study of gravitational wave sources to the design of the instrument's test benches, through the evaluation of scientific performance and the development of data processing algorithms.