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Experimental demonstration of an on-axis laser ranging interferometer for future gravity missions

Daikang Wei1,2,*, Christoph Bode1,2, Kohei Yamamoto3,4,5, Yongho Lee1,2, Germán Fernández Barranco1,2, Vitali Müller1,2, Miguel Dovale Álvarez6, Juan José Esteban Delgado1,2, and Gerhard Heinzel1,2

  • *Contact author: daikang.wei@aei.mpg.de
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Phys. Rev. Applied 25, 044039 – Published 15 April, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/5r3c-9n8z

Abstract

We experimentally demonstrate an interferometric architecture for next-generation gravity missions, featuring a laser ranging interferometer (LRI) that enables monoaxial transmission and reception of laser beams between two optical benches with a heterodyne frequency of 7.3 MHz. Active beam-steering loops, utilizing differential wavefront sensing signals, ensure coalignment between the receiving beam and the transmitting beam. With spacecraft attitude jitter simulated by hexapod-driven rotations, the interferometric link achieves a pointing stability below 10μrad/Hz in the frequency range between 0.2 mHz and 0.5 Hz, and the fluctuation of the transmitting beam’s polarization state results in a reduction of 0.14% in the carrier-to-noise-density ratio over a 15 h continuous measurement. Additionally, tilt-to-length coupling is experimentally investigated using the periodic scanning of the hexapod. Experimental results show that the on-axis LRI enables the interspacecraft ranging measurements with nanometer accuracy, making it a potential candidate for future GRACE-like missions.

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Phys. Rev. Applied 25, 044039– Published 15 April, 2026
  • Received 21 November 2025
  • Revised 13 February 2026
  • Accepted 26 February 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Open access publication funded by Max Planck Society.

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