Status of MICROSCOPE, a mission to test the Equivalence Principle in space

Abstract

MICROSCOPE is a French Space Agency mission that aims to test the Weak Equivalence Principle in space down to an accuracy of $10^{-15}$. This is two orders of magnitude better than the current constraints, which will allow us to test General Relativity as well as theories beyond General Relativity which predict a possible Weak Equivalence Principle violation below $10^{-13}$. In this communication, we describe the MICROSCOPE mission, its measurement principle and instrument, and we give an update on its status. After a successful instrument's commissioning, MICROSCOPE is on track for on-schedule launch, expected in 2016.

Proceedings of LISA Symposium X; accepted for publication in Journal of Physics: Conference Series

References in corpus (3)

• Lunar Laser Ranging Tests of the Equivalence Principle
• Determination of the Equivalence Principle violation signal for the MICROSCOPE space mission: optimization of the signal processing
• Validation of the in-flight calibration procedures for the MICROSCOPE space mission

Cited by in corpus (4)

• General Relativity and Cosmology: Unsolved Questions and Future Directions
• The status of varying constants: a review of the physics, searches and implications
• Dealing with missing data in the MICROSCOPE space mission: An adaptation of inpainting to handle colored-noise data
• Coupling quintessence kinetics to electromagnetism