Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope — NASA’s New Window on the Universe

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PRERNA FOR IAS

         Mehnat Aapki, Guidance Humari

Roz ki Prelims Practice — Experts ke Saath

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope — NASA’s New Window on the Universe

Context

NASA successfully launched the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on 30 August 2026 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. It is now travelling towards the Sun–Earth L2 point, about 1.5 million km from Earth, where it will conduct wide-field infrared observations.

Historical Background

Formerly called WFIRST, the telescope was renamed after Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first Chief of Astronomy, often called the “Mother of Hubble.” Roman has a 2.4-metre primary mirror, similar in size to Hubble’s, but its field of view is at least 100 times larger.