The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (Launching August 30)

Set to launch on Sun., Aug. 30, 2026, at 7:26 a.m., the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is the next generation observatory! Named for NASA’s first chief astronomer, this telescope will help to uncover the mysteries of the universe.

As the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, this observatory has a mission spanning several essential questions in the areas of dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics. Hubble, with its wide field of view outside the Earth’s atmosphere, peered farther into space and time than any telescope before it. As Hubble surveyed the sky in detail, it charted the evolution of stars and galaxies in ways never seen before. Discoveries were made in topics such as black holes, exoplanets, and even the expansion of the universe. Now, Roman, with its technological advancements, will discover even more.

Unlike Hubble, which orbits the Earth just above the atmosphere, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will have its vantage point approximately 930,000 miles from the Earth in the opposite direction of the Sun. At this location gravitational forces balance objects into stable orbits alongside the Earth. This special spot in space is called the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point (L2). However, Roman will not be the first telescope in this region. Due to its useful properties, L2 is already home to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which uses an extremely narrow field of view to capture details of the early universe.

Roman’s primary mirror, while a quarter of the weight, is the same size as the Hubble Space Telescope’s, at 7.9 feet across. Despite this fact, this telescope’s field of view will be at least 100 times larger than Hubble’s. The difference being Roman’s Wide Field Instrument (WFI). The WFI is a 300-megapixel infrared camera that will allow Roman to survey the sky up to 1,000 times faster than Hubble with comparable detail and resolution.

Alongside the WFI, integrated onto the instrument carrier is the Coronagraph Instrument. The Coronagraph Instrument uses a system involving several masks, prisms, and detectors to eliminate the glare from distant stars to allow for direct imaging of planets in orbit around them. Testing this technology, Roman could capture photographs of dusty disks and exoplanets around nearby stars in far greater detail than any other observatory.

This ambitious mission honors the legacy of Dr. Nancy Grace Roman. Also referred to as “Mother of Hubble,” Roman was an astounding astronomer who fought to see the Hubble Space Telescope come to fruition. In the position of chief astronomer, Roman noticed the desire for a space-based telescope and dedicated her work to making it happen. She was involved in all aspects of the project. She led committees, united teams of scientists and engineers, made crucial decisions, and lobbied NASA officials to approve the project. Congress finally approved the mission nearly two decades after she joined NASA. Nancy Grace Roman was an inspiration to many for her leadership, determination, and accomplishments. Now, Hubble’s successor will carry on with her legacy and her name!