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REDONGRA: a network to propel Spain’s role in gravitational wave astronomy

By comunicacion / July 10, 2025

The Spanish Network of Gravitational Wave Physics (REDONGRA) has been granted significant funding under the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities 2024 call of Redes de Investigación. The financial support recognises REDONGRA’s strategic importance in consolidating and expanding Spain’s leadership in the field of gravitational wave science.

REDONGRA has two main objectives: to coordinate and maximise Spain's contribution to gravitational wave science and to prepare the next generation of scientists and infrastructure for future flagship missions like LISA and the Einstein Telescope. The network will develop a roadmap for Spain's strategic involvement in these missions to advance their understanding of the Universe through the detection and analysis of gravitational waves.

The network brings together 20 top research groups from across Spain, including institutions already active in major international collaborations such as LIGO, Virgo, the Einstein Telescope, LISA, and Pulsar Timing Arrays (PTAs). ICE-CSIC, as one of the central pillars of the network, plays a crucial role both scientifically and institutionally. The Gravitational Astronomy–LISA research group at the institute, led by Carlos F. Sopuerta, Miquel Nofrarias, and Sascha Husa, has been at the forefront of Spain’s contributions to the ESA’s LISA Pathfinder mission -ended in 2018- and it is currently leading the developments in both instrumentation and data analysis, and ground segment for the upcoming LISA mission.

The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will be the first space-based gravitational wave observatory. This mission was adopted by ESA in 2024 and it is expected to be launched in 2035. It will consist of a constellation of three spacecraft separated by 2.5 million km (more than six times the Earth-Moon distance) in a triangular formation, following Earth in its orbit around the Sun. This way, LISA will scan the entire sky behind the Earth’s orbit, obtaining both polarisations of the gravitational waves simultaneously.

“The REDONGRA network provides a unique opportunity for the growing Spanish community working on gravitational wave astronomy, that will enhance the participation in the current and future international collaborations (LVK, ET, LISA, etc.)”, says Carlos F. Sopuerta, researcher at the ICE-CSIC and the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC).

The activities of the network started in May 2025 and there are already different events programmed for the rest of the year. First, on 23-25 June, the Iberian Gravitational Wave Meeting was held, where all network members gathered to review progress, share research updates and plan collaborative projects for the coming year. Other activities for this year include the tenth anniversary of the first Gravitational Wave detection on 15-16 September at the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB), in Mallorca; the second LISA Spain Meeting on 23-24 October, at CSIC in Madrid; and the 10th anniversary LISA Pathfinder mission’s launch on 3 December at the ICE-CSIC, in Barcelona. In the future, the network will also organize a school on gravitational wave physics, where there will be a comprehensive training programme for graduate students entering the field of gravitational wave astronomy.

This new phase in REDONGRA's development represents a significant expansion of its previous iterations and places Spain at the heart of a rapidly evolving international landscape. By aligning top-tier research institutions under a shared vision and by investing in training and outreach REDONGRA is set to make gravitational wave science not just a scientific frontier, but a national strength.

THE REDONGRA network is comprised by the following institutions: the Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC), Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC), Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB), Institute for the Structure of Matter (IEM-CSIC), Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE), Institute of Physics of Cantabria (IFCA-CSIC/UC), Instituto de Física Corpuscular (IFIC-CSIC/UV), Institute for Theoretical Physics (IFT-CSIC/UAM), Instituto Galego de Física de Altas Enerxías (IGFAE), University of Alicante (UA), Universidad de Cádiz (UCA), University of Granada (UGR), University of the Balearic Islands (UIB), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC), Technical University of Madrid (UPM), University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Universidad de Salamanca (USAL) and University of Valencia (UV).