![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1fcaf8e867e772eca852e74cfa36c5b2071bdf07d548c906c076a293fc6d1755.png\")
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Aug 27, 2026<\/p>\n
NASA\u2019s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is set to launch at 7:26 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 30. While you wait to watch the launch<\/a>, brush up on some key facts about this wide-view mission.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t01\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe mission is named after NASA\u2019s first chief astronomer, Dr. Nancy Grace Roman.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRoman is named after Dr. Nancy Grace Roman<\/a> (1925\u20132018), NASA\u2019s first chief of astronomy. She championed space-based observatories that could study the universe above Earth\u2019s hazy atmosphere while making their data broadly available to the scientific community. \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t02\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRoman will transform our view of the cosmos by showing us the bigger picture.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRoman will pair a large field of view with crisp infrared vision to scan vast, deep swaths of sky. This flagship mission is designed to help astronomers explore dark matter<\/a>, dark energy<\/a>, and planets outside our solar system, called exoplanets<\/a>. \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t03\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe observatory will journey a million miles to join Webb at Lagrange point 2.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRoman will orbit 1 million miles away at the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point (L2), the same location as NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope. At L2, gravity from the Sun and Earth works together with an object\u2019s motion around the Sun to hold it roughly in place. This balance will give Roman a relatively steady orbit without using much fuel. \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t04\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe spacecraft carries the names of more than a million people.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThis summer, everyone was invited to submit their name to be added to a memory card attached to a plaque on the Roman spacecraft.\u00a0More than 1.3 million people did so and will have their names carried all the way to L2.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t05\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRoman will scan the skies for at least five years.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRoman will have a primary mission lifetime of five years and is designed to support an additional five-year extended mission. Fuel is expected to be the mission\u2019s life-limiting resource, and while NASA does not currently have an ability to service observatories at L2, Roman is designed to be refuelable.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t06\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTwo instruments will enable myriad discoveries.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe observatory\u2019s Wide Field Instrument is a 300-megapixel infrared camera that will give Roman the same sharpness (angular resolution) as Hubble but with a field of view at least 100 times larger. Using this instrument, each Roman image will capture a patch of the sky about 1.5 times bigger than the apparent size of a full Moon. \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t07\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRoman joins an international cohort of teamworking telescopes.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRoman will work in tandem with many other NASA-led and international missions to provide the most complete view of our universe yet. Roman\u2019s large panoramas will uncover interesting targets that Hubble could follow up on using infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light to offer a more comprehensive view. NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope can then use its larger mirror and more powerful vision to deliver even more detailed, ultra-sharp observations. And Roman can view regions around objects Hubble or Webb observe to offer context. \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t08\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWatch the Roman launch live from anywhere.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNASA will stream this event live through a variety of platforms. Learn where to watch online: nasa.gov\/live<\/a>. The launch broadcast will continue until approximately one hour past launch to follow the first several critical milestones post-launch.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t09\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNASA expects to share Roman\u2019s first images by early 2027.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Roman team will complete a carefully orchestrated series of deployments, calibrations, and tests in the three months following launch before the observatory reaches its final orbit. Science operations begin once this commissioning period is completed, starting with the release of Roman\u2019s first science images.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n To learn more about the Roman mission, visit:<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/roman<\/a><\/p>\n Media contact:<\/p>\n
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While she\u2019s known as the \u201cmother\u201d of the Hubble Space Telescope, Roman played an even broader role as the driving force behind NASA\u2019s entire Great Observatories program, which included Hubble along with the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the retired Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and Spitzer Space Telescope.
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Her vision and leadership helped establish NASA as a world-class scientific institution and laid the foundation for generations of space telescopes that continue to expand humanity\u2019s understanding of the cosmos.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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Since each of Roman\u2019s surveys will sample such a large volume of the cosmos, the mission will also offer practically limitless opportunities for astronomers to conduct a broad range of additional science. From objects in our outer solar system and exploding stars to growing black holes and galaxies by the billions, very little will be beyond Roman\u2019s reach. Roman\u2019s data will be made public as soon as it\u2019s processed, allowing many teams to analyze it simultaneously.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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Like Webb, Roman will trace out a large orbit around the actual L2 point \u2014 much larger than the Moon\u2019s orbit around Earth \u2014 and the two will easily be kept far apart.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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Roman\u2019s Coronagraph Instrument is designed to demonstrate the most advanced technologies ever flown in space for directly imaging planets around other stars. It will block the glare from stars and make it possible for scientists to see the faint reflected light from planets in orbit around them, revealing giant worlds that are older, colder, and in closer orbits than the hot, young super-Jupiters direct imaging has mainly revealed so far.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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Euclid, an ESA (European Space Agency) mission with key contributions from NASA, will observe a larger area of the sky than Roman, though with less detail. Since their survey areas will overlap, scientists can use Roman\u2019s higher-quality data to apply corrections to Euclid\u2019s, then extend these refinements over Euclid\u2019s much larger area.
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Scientists can also pair Roman\u2019s infrared data with visible-light observations from the ground-based Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a National Science Foundation\u2013Department of Energy collaboration. That will allow astronomers to inch closer to achieving Roman-like quality over Rubin\u2019s much greater sky coverage.
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By showcasing technology to directly photograph Jupiter-like exoplanets, Roman will also provide a crucial stepping stone for NASA\u2019s Habitable Worlds Observatory<\/a> concept, a flagship space telescope that would be designed to photograph Earth-like planets in other solar systems for the first time ever.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n