The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is a NASA observatory designed to settle essential questions in the areas of dark energy, exoplanets and infrared astrophysics. Image courtesy NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio
NASA is gearing up to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope this summer, sending the spacecraft 1 million miles from Earth to unlock the mysteries of the universe.
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket is set to launch the telescope on Aug. 30 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The next-generation telescope will investigate and answer questions about dark matter, dark energy, exoplanets and astrophysics, according to NASA. It will capture panoramic images about 100 times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope, and it may measure light from a billion galaxies during its lifetime.
Dr. Kristen McQuinn, mission head for the Roman Science Operations Center at the Space Telescope Science Institute, explained to AccuWeather how Roman is using new technology to break barriers in space exploration.
“In about 10 months, Roman will be able to observe the equivalent of what Hubble sees in about 1,000 years,” McQuinn said. “So that is changing the way astronomers and scientists will do their work.”
Weighing 18,000 pounds, Roman has about the same mass as a Tyrannosaurus rex, and is about the size of a tour bus, stretching more than 42 feet long and 14 feet wide.
What are Roman’s goals?
The Roman project is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, Maryland. Ami Choi, a research astrophysicist at Goddard and deputy wide-field instrument scientist on the Roman team, told AccuWeather the telescope has two primary objectives.
“One is the area of exoplanets, and Roman is going to really shine in discovering new exoplanets,” Choi said. “The other area is to understand what the universe is made of, and how it evolved to what we see today.”
Choi explained that while scientists know about 6,000 exoplanets now, Roman will discover around 100,000 new ones.
“I think we will discover some new things that we haven’t seen before with any other observatory,” Choi added.
McQuinn noted that Roman will answer questions about cosmology, in addition to the history of the universe. “These are questions that have gone unanswered for decades,” she said.
How does the Roman telescope work?
Once in space, the Nancy Grace Roman telescope will observe the universe one million miles away at Sun-Earth Lagrange point two (L2), the same orbit as the James Webb Space Telescope. At L2, the Earth’s and Sun’s gravity balance out and will provide an unobstructed view of the sky. The two telescopes will never collide.
According to NASA, Roman has two photography instruments: the Coronagraph Instrument technology demonstration and the Wide Field Instrument (WFI).
The Coronagraph will capture images of planets that are almost a billion times fainter than their host star, making it one of the most powerful coronagraphs ever flown, the agency explains. The WFI is a 300-megapixel infrared camera that will allow scientists to look back in time at the universe to explore how it evolved. The instrument will also enable the telescope to capture images of sections of the sky larger than a full moon.
Roman’s data will be accessible to the public immediately after it’s collected and processed, which is uncommon for most missions, Choi explained.
“Usually there’s a proprietary period where there is some amount of time where people are proposing for the observations that they want,” Choi said.
Roman will remain in orbit for five years and could be extended for five more years, depending on fuel.
“I think everybody’s pretty confident that Roman could last at least 10 years, if not more,” Choi said.
Many NASA missions have extended well beyond their initial estimated lifespans — including Hubble — which has been operating for more than 36 years.
Who is Nancy Grace Roman?
The telescope is named after Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, considered the “mother of the Hubble Space Telescope” and NASA’s first chief astronomer.
Roman, who died in 2018, advocated for the development of space-based telescopes to explore the broader universe, according to NASA. She was also an architect for the agency’s modern science program.
Roman’s leadership paved the way for Hubble and all the space telescopes that followed, helping to establish NASA as a “world-class scientific institution.”
McQuinn noted that Roman is the first space telescope of its kind to be named after a woman, describing it as an exciting milestone.
“Women have made significant contributions to astrophysics and science over many decades, and it’s really wonderful to see the acknowledgement and recognition of their contributions at such at such a high level,” McQuinn said.
Choi also discussed the significance of the telescope’s name.
“She really paved the way for space-based astronomy,” Choi said. “That’s a very, at least for me, a very inspiring aspect of the observatory.”
Where is the telescope now?
The telescope is currently located at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where it will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket at 7:20 a.m. EDT on Aug. 30. The launch date is eight months ahead of schedule, according to McQuinn, who described the accomplishment as “incredible.”
During the next few weeks, technicians will complete additional tests to ensure the telescope is ready for launch before loading it with 290 gallons of hydrazine fuel.
As the launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope approaches, scientists are eager to learn more about the universe and make discoveries they never anticipated.
“It is the unknown-unknowns that are sometimes the most exciting coming out of a new facility,” McQuinn said. “I’m particularly excited about seeing the universe in a new way and finding things that we didn’t know to look for.”
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captures a near-infrared light view of Arp 142, nicknamed the Penguin and the Egg. The distorted spiral galaxy at center, the Penguin, and the compact elliptical galaxy at left, the Egg, are locked in an active embrace. Photo courtesy of NASA | License Photo