LISA and the LISA Science Team
Anna Heffernan
TL;DR
This article surveys the LISA mission context and the formation of the LISA Science Team (LST) to maximize scientific return, with an update through December 2025. It outlines the mission architecture and four science objectives, emphasizing waveform modeling and data-analysis requirements for resolving overlapping signals with high SNR, including $\mathrm{SNR}\sim 1000$ for MBHBs and IMBHs. The paper details the LST's six working groups and planned data products such as the Level-3 science catalogue and a Figures of Merit tool to guide instrument design and operations. Taken together, the work highlights LISA's potential for multi-messenger, multi-band discoveries across compact binaries, massive black holes, and extreme mass-ratio inspirals, and it documents the governance structures enabling timely science outcomes.
Abstract
LISA, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, due to launch mid-2035, is a large class space mission by the European Space Agency (ESA). In partnership with NASA and ESA-member states, ESA is on track to launch what is expected to be the first space-based gravitational wave detector. By hosting detectors in space, one gains access to a lower frequency band of gravitational wave sources and with them, a plethora of new science. To maximise this scientific gain, ESA and NASA selected 20 scientists for the LISA Science Team, to carry out and/or lead necessary actions on the run up to LISA launch. We give a short overview and update of the LISA mission, some of its science objectives and related waveforms, as well as the work of the LISA Science Team as of December 2025.