NASA's Roman Space Telescope Aims to Unveil Dark Energy and Exoplanets

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is set to launch on Aug. 30 from Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy to a Sun-Earth L2 orbit. It will tackle dark energy, dark matter, and exoplanets while conducting wide-field infrared surveys about 100 times larger than the Hubble Deep Field, potentially capturing light from up to a billion galaxies over a five-year mission (with possible extension). The spacecraft carries two instruments—the Wide Field Instrument and a Coronagraph—whose data will be released to the public immediately, and it will be named after NASA's first chief astronomer, Nancy Grace Roman, marking a milestone in women’s contributions to space science.