The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (shortened as the Roman Space Telescope, Roman, or RST) is a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

infrared Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...

space telescope A space telescope (also known as space observatory) is a telescope in outer space used to observe astronomical objects. Suggested by Lyman Spitzer in 1946, the first operational telescopes were the American Orbiting Astronomical Observatory, OAO ...

in development and scheduled to launch to a Sun–Earth L₂ orbit by May 2027. It is named after former NASA Chief of Astronomy Nancy Grace Roman. The Roman Space Telescope is based on an existing wide

field of view The field of view (FOV) is the angle, angular extent of the observable world that is visual perception, seen at any given moment. In the case of optical instruments or sensors, it is a solid angle through which a detector is sensitive to elec ...

primary mirror and will carry two scientific instruments. The Wide-Field Instrument (WFI) is a 300.8-megapixel multi-band visible and

near-infrared Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those of ...

camera, providing a sharpness of images comparable to that achieved by the

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the Orbiting Solar Observatory, first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most ...

over a 0.28 square degree field of view, 100 times larger than imaging cameras on the Hubble. The Coronagraphic Instrument (CGI) is a high-contrast, small field of view camera and

spectrometer A spectrometer () is a scientific instrument used to separate and measure Spectrum, spectral components of a physical phenomenon. Spectrometer is a broad term often used to describe instruments that measure a continuous variable of a phenomeno ...

covering visible and near-infrared wavelengths using novel starlight-suppression technology. Stated objectives include a search for extra-solar planets using

gravitational microlensing Gravitational microlensing is an astronomical phenomenon caused by the gravitational lens effect. It can be used to detect objects that range from the mass of a planet to the mass of a star, regardless of the light they emit. Typically, astronom ...

, along with probing the chronology of the universe and growth of cosmic structure, with the end goal of measuring the effects of

dark energy In physical cosmology and astronomy, dark energy is a proposed form of energy that affects the universe on the largest scales. Its primary effect is to drive the accelerating expansion of the universe. It also slows the rate of structure format ...

, the consistency of

general relativity General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity, and as Einstein's theory of gravity, is the differential geometry, geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of grav ...

, and the curvature of spacetime. Roman was recommended in 2010 by the

United States National Research Council The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), also known as the National Academies, is a congressionally chartered organization that serves as the collective scientific national academy of the United States. The name i ...

Decadal Survey committee as the top priority for the next decade of astronomy. On 17 February 2016, it was approved for development and launch. On 20 May 2020, NASA Administrator

Jim Bridenstine James Frederick Bridenstine (born June 15, 1975) is an American military officer and politician who served as the 13th administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Bridenstine was the United States representative ...

announced that the mission would be named the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in recognition of former NASA Chief of Astronomy Nancy Grace Roman's role in the field of

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

. , Roman is scheduled to be launched on a

Falcon Heavy Falcon Heavy is a super heavy-lift launch vehicle with partial reusability that can carry cargo into Earth orbit and beyond. It is designed, manufactured and launched by American aerospace company SpaceX. The rocket consists of a center core ...

rocket under a contract specifying readiness by October 2026 supporting a NASA launch commitment of May 2027.

Development of mission

The design of the Roman Space Telescope shares a heritage with various proposed designs for the

Joint Dark Energy Mission The Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM) was an Einstein probe that planned to focus on investigating dark energy. JDEM was a partnership between NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In August 2010, the Board on Physics and Astronomy of ...

(JDEM) between

and the

Department of Energy A ministry of energy or department of energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-rela ...

(DOE). The original design, called WFIRST Design Reference Mission 1, was studied in 2011–2012, featuring a diameter unobstructed three-mirror anastigmat telescope. It contained a single instrument, a visible to near-infrared imager/slitless prism spectrometer. In 2012, another possibility emerged: NASA could use a second-hand

National Reconnaissance Office The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a member of the United States Intelligence Community and an agency of the United States Department of Defense which designs, builds, launches, and operates the reconnaissance satellites of the U.S. f ...

(NRO) telescope made by

Harris Corporation Harris Corporation was an American technology company, defense contractor, and information technology service (economics), services provider that produced wireless equipment, tactical radios, electronic systems, night vision device, night visi ...

to accomplish a mission like the one planned for WFIRST. NRO offered to donate two telescopes, the same size as the

but with a shorter focal length and hence a wider

. This provided important political momentum to the project, even though the telescope represents only a modest fraction of the cost of the mission and the boundary conditions from the NRO design may push the total cost over that of a fresh design. This mission concept, called WFIRST-AFTA (Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets), was matured by a scientific and technical team; this mission is now the only present NASA plan for the use of the NRO telescopes. The Roman baseline design includes a

coronagraph A coronagraph is a telescopic attachment designed to block out the direct light from a star or other bright object so that nearby objects – which otherwise would be hidden in the object's bright glare – can be resolved. Most coronagr ...

to enable the

direct imaging Methods of detecting exoplanets usually rely on indirect strategies – that is, they do not directly image the planet but deduce its existence from another signal. Any planet is an extremely faint light source compared to its parent star. For e ...

exoplanet An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first confirmed detection of an exoplanet was in 1992 around a pulsar, and the first detection around a main-sequence star was in 1995. A different planet, first det ...

s. Several implementations of WFIRST/Roman were studied. These included the

-Omega configuration, an Interim Design Reference Mission featuring a telescope, Design Reference Mission 1 with a 1.3 m telescope, Design Reference Mission 2 with a telescope, and several iterations of the AFTA configuration. In the 2015 final report, Roman was considered for both

geosynchronous A geosynchronous orbit (sometimes abbreviated GSO) is an Earth-centered orbit with an orbital period that matches Earth's rotation on its axis, 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds (one sidereal day). The synchronization of rotation and orbital ...

orbit and for an orbit around the Sun-Earth

Lagrange point In celestial mechanics, the Lagrange points (; also Lagrangian points or libration points) are points of equilibrium for small-mass objects under the gravitational influence of two massive orbiting bodies. Mathematically, this involves t ...

L₂. L₂ has disadvantages versus geosynchronous orbit in available data rate and propellant required, but advantages for improved observing constraints, better thermal stability, and more benign radiation environment. Some science cases (such as exoplanet microlensing parallax) are improved at L₂, but the possibility of robotic servicing at either of the locations is currently unknown. By February 2016 it had been decided to use a

halo orbit A halo orbit is a periodic, non-planar orbit associated with one of the L1, L2 or L3 Lagrange points in the three-body problem of orbital mechanics. Although a Lagrange point is just a point in empty space, its peculiar characteristic is th ...

around L₂. The project is led by a team at NASA's

Goddard Space Flight Center The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C., in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959, as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC ...

Greenbelt, Maryland Greenbelt is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and a suburb of Washington, D.C. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,921. Greenbelt is the first and the largest of the three experimental ...

. On 30 November 2018, NASA announced it had awarded a contract for the telescope. This was for a part called OTA, the Optical Telescope Assembly, and runs to 2025. This is in conjunction with the Goddard Space Flight Center, for which the OTA is planned for delivery as part of this contract. A February 2019 description of the mission's capabilities is available in a white paper issued by members of the Roman team.

Science objectives

The science objectives of Roman aim to address cutting-edge questions in

cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...

and

research, including: * Answering basic questions about

, complementary to the

European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...

(ESA)

Euclid Euclid (; ; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the '' Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of geometry that largely domina ...

mission, and including: Is cosmic acceleration caused by a new energy component or by the breakdown of

on cosmological scales? If the cause is a new energy component, is its energy density constant in space and time, or has it evolved over the

history of the universe Big History is an academic discipline that examines history from the Big Bang to the present. Big History resists specialization and searches for universal patterns or trends. It examines long time frames using a multidisciplinary approach ...

? Roman will use three independent techniques to probe dark energy:

baryon acoustic oscillations In cosmology, baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) are fluctuations in the density of the visible baryonic matter (normal matter) of the universe, caused by Acoustics, acoustic density waves in the primordial plasma of the early universe. In the s ...

, observations of distant

supernovae A supernova (: supernovae or supernovas) is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion. The original ob ...

, and

weak gravitational lensing While the presence of any mass bends the path of light passing near it, this effect rarely produces the giant arcs and multiple images associated with strong gravitational lensing. Most lines of sight in the universe are thoroughly in the weak ...

. * Completing a census of

s to help answer new questions about the potential for

life in the universe Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

: How common are solar systems like our own? What kinds of planets exist in the cold, outer regions of planetary systems? – What determines the

habitability Habitability is the adequacy of an environment for human living. Where housing is concerned, there are generally local ordinances which define habitability. If a residence complies with those laws, it is said to be habitable. In extreme environ ...

of Earth-like worlds? This census makes use of a technique that can find

s down to a mass only a few times that of the Moon:

. The census would also include a sample of free-floating planets with masses likely down to the mass of

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

. * Establishing a guest investigator mode, enabling survey investigations to answer diverse questions about our galaxy and the universe. * Providing a

for exoplanet

that will provide the first direct images and spectra of planets around our nearest neighbors, similar to our own giant planets. * Detection of primordial black holes. File:Scheme of Roman Space Telescope.png, Scheme of the Roman Space Telescope File:WFIRST Wide Field Instrument.gif, Wide Field Instrument

Instruments

The telescope is to carry two instruments. ;WFI: The Wide-Field Instrument (WFI) is a 300.8-

megapixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a Raster graphics, raster image, or the smallest addressable element in a dot matrix display device. In most digital display devices, p ...

camera providing multiband visible to near-infrared (0.48 to 2.30 μm) imaging using one wideband and six narrowband filters. A

HgCdTe Hg1−''x''Cd''x''Te or mercury cadmium telluride (also cadmium mercury telluride, MCT, MerCad Telluride, MerCadTel, MerCaT or CMT) is a chemical compound of cadmium telluride (CdTe) and mercury telluride (HgTe) with a tunable bandgap spanning th ...

-based focal-plane array captures a 0.28 square degree

with a resolution of 0.11 arcseconds. The detector array is composed of 18 H4RG-10 detectors provided by

Teledyne Teledyne Technologies Incorporated is an American industrial conglomerate. It was founded in 1960, as Teledyne, Inc. by Henry Singleton and George Kozmetsky. From August 1996 to November 1999, Teledyne existed as part of the conglomerate Al ...

. It also carries both high-dispersion

grism A grism (also called a grating prism) is a combination of a prism and grating arranged so that light at a chosen central wavelength passes straight through. The advantage of this arrangement is that one and the same camera can be used both for i ...

and low-dispersion prism assemblies for wide-field

slitless spectroscopy Slitless spectroscopy is spectroscopy done without a small slit to allow only light from a small region to be diffracted. It works best in sparsely populated fields, as it spreads each point source out into its spectrum, and crowded fields can be t ...

. ;CGI: The Coronagraphic Instrument (CGI) is a high contrast

covering shorter wavelengths (575 nm to 825 nm) using dual deformable mirror starlight-suppression technology. It is intended to achieve a part-per-billion suppression of starlight to enable the detection and spectroscopy of planets with a visual separation of as little as 0.15 arcseconds from their host stars. CGI is intended as a technology demonstrator for an exoplanet imaging instrument on a future large space-based observatory, such as the

Habitable Worlds Observatory The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is a proposed next generation space telescope, a successor of the flagship Hubble, Webb and Roman projects. It would have a large 6–8 meter mirror and be able to detect infrared, optical, and ultraviolet ...

(HWO). File:Romandet-1681946.jpg, Roman's Wide Field Instrument focal plane Engineering Test Unit, containing 18 non-flight H4RG-10 detectors from

File:Optical Telescope Assembly for the Roman Space Telescope.jpg, Optical Telescope Assembly File:Filters on RST Coronagraph Instrument Color Filter Assembly.jpg, The filters on the Coronagraph Instrument's Color Filter Assembly File:The focal plane mask for the Roman Coronagraph Instrument.jpg, The focal plane mask for the Roman Coronagraph Instrument

History

On 2 March 2020, NASA announced that it had approved WFIRST to proceed to implementation, with an expected development cost of US$3.2 billion and a maximum total cost of US$3.934 billion, including the coronagraph and five years of mission science operations. On 20 May 2020, NASA Administrator

announced that the mission would be named the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in recognition of the former NASA Chief of Astronomy's role in the field of

. On 31 March 2021, the

NASA Office of Inspector General The NASA Office of Inspector General (NASA OIG or OIG) is the inspector general office in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the space agency of the United States. The OIG's stated mission is to "prevent and detect crime, fraud, ...

(OIG) released a report that stated that the development of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope had been affected by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, which hit the US during a particularly important time in the telescope's development. NASA is expecting a total impact of US$400 million due to the pandemic and its effect on subcontractors for the project. On 29 September 2021, NASA announced that Roman had passed its

Critical Design Review In the United States military integrated acquisition lifecycle the technical section has multiple acquisition technical reviews. Technical reviews and audits assist the acquisition and the number and types are tailored to the acquisition. Overall ...

(CDR), and that with predicted impacts from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

disruptions, and with flight hardware fabrication completed by 2024 followed by mission integration, the launch date would be no later than May 2027. On 19 July 2022, NASA announced that Roman would be launched on a

launch vehicle, with a contract specifying readiness by October 2026 and a launch cost of approximately $255 million. In October 2024, the telescope passed a major ‘spin test’. In September 2024, the

satellite bus A satellite bus (or spacecraft bus) is the main body and structural component of a satellite or spacecraft, in which the payload and all scientific instruments are held. Bus-derived satellites are less customized than specially-produced satelli ...

which will carry the telescope, was substantially completed. The following December, the instruments and mirror assembly were successfully integrated onto a section called the "instrument carrier".

Funding history and status

In the fiscal year 2014, Congress provided US$56 million for Roman, and in 2015 Congress provided US$50 million. The fiscal year 2016 spending bill provided US$90 million for Roman, far above NASA's request of US$14 million, allowing the mission to enter the "formulation phase" in February 2016. On 18 February 2016, NASA announced that Roman had formally become a project (as opposed to a study), meaning that the agency intends to carry out the mission as baselined; at that time, the "AFTA" portion of the name was dropped, as only that approach is being pursued. Roman is on a plan for a mid-2020s launch. The total cost of Roman at that point was expected at more than US$2 billion; NASA's 2015 budget estimate was around US$2.0 billion in 2010 dollars, which corresponds to around US$2.7 billion in real year (inflation-adjusted) dollars. In April 2017, NASA commissioned an independent review of the project to ensure that the mission scope and cost were understood and aligned. The review acknowledged that Roman offers "groundbreaking and unprecedented survey capabilities for

, and general astrophysics", but directed the mission to "reduce cost and complexity sufficient to have a cost estimate consistent with the US$3.2 billion cost target set at the beginning of Phase B". NASA announced (Jan 2018) the reductions taken in response to this recommendation, and that Roman would proceed to its mission design review in February 2018 and begin Phase B by April 2018. NASA confirmed (March 2018) that the changes made to the project had reduced its estimated life cycle cost to US$3.2 billion and that the Phase B decision was on track to begin on 11 April 2018. In February 2018, the Trump administration's proposed an FY2019 budget that would have delayed the funding of the Roman (then called WFIRST), citing higher priorities within NASA and the increasing cost of this telescope. The proposed defunding of the project was met with criticism by professional astronomers, who noted that the American astronomical community had rated Roman the highest-priority space mission for the 2020s in the 2010 Decadal Survey. The

American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...

expressed "grave concern" about the proposed defunding, and noted that the estimated lifecycle cost for Roman had not changed over the previous two years. In agreement,

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

approved a FY2018 Roman budget on 22 and 23 March 2018 in excess of the administration's budget request for that year, stated that it "rejects the cancellation of scientific priorities recommended by the National Academy of Sciences decadal survey process", and directed NASA to develop new estimates of Roman's total and annual development costs. The President of the United States announced he had signed the bill on 23 March 2018. NASA was funded via a FY2019 appropriations bill on 15 February 2019, with US$312 million for Roman, rejecting the President's reduced Budget Request and reasserting the desire for completion of Roman with a planning budget of US$3.2 billion. In March 2019 the Trump administration again proposed to defund the Roman in its FY2020 budget proposal to Congress. In testimony on 27 March 2019, NASA Administrator

hinted that NASA would continue Roman after the

James Webb Space Telescope The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope designed to conduct infrared astronomy. As the largest telescope in space, it is equipped with high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments, allowing it to view objects too old, Lis ...

, stating "WFIRST will be a critical mission when James Webb is on orbit". In a 26 March 2019, presentation to the National Academies' Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics, NASA Astrophysics Division Director Paul L. Hertz stated that Roman "is maintaining its US$3.2 billion cost for now... We need US$542 million in FY2020 to stay on track". At that time, it was stated that Roman would hold its Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for the overall mission in October 2019 followed by a formal mission confirmation in early 2020. NASA announced the completion of the

Preliminary Design Review In the United States military integrated acquisition lifecycle the technical section has multiple acquisition technical reviews. Technical reviews and audits assist the acquisition and the number and types are tailored to the acquisition. Overall ...

(PDR) on 1 November 2019, but warned that though the mission remained on track for a 2025 launch date, shortfalls in the Senate's FY2020 budget proposal for Roman threatened to delay it further. In April 2025, the

second Trump administration Donald Trump's second and current tenure as the president of the United States began upon his inauguration as the 47th president on January 20, 2025. On his first day, Trump pardoned about 1,500 people convicted of offenses in the Janua ...

proposed to cut funding for Roman again as part of its FY2026 budget draft. This was part of wider proposed cuts to NASA's science budget, down to US$3.9 billion from its FY2025 budget of US$7.5 billion. On April 25, 2025, the White House Office of Management and Budget announced a plan to cancel dozens of space missions, including the Roman Space Telescope, as part of the cuts.

Institutions, partnerships, and contracts

High-Gain Antenna for Roman Space Telescope

The Roman project office is located at NASA's

, and holds responsibility for overall project management. GSFC also leads the development of the Wide-Field Instrument, the spacecraft, and the telescope. The Coronagraphic Instrument is being developed at NASA's

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Crescenta Valley, United States. Founded in 1936 by Cali ...

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

. Science support activities for Roman are shared among

Space Telescope Science Institute The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is the science operations center for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), science operations and mission operations center for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and science operations center for the ...

(

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

), which is the Science Operations Center; the

Infrared Processing and Analysis Center The Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) provides science operations, data management, data archives and community support for astronomy and planetary science missions. IPAC has a historical emphasis on infrared-submillimeter astronomy a ...

, Pasadena, California; and

GSFC The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C., in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959, as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC ...

Partners

Four international partners, namely the French space agency

CNES CNES () is the French national space agency. Headquartered in central Paris, the agency is overseen by the ministries of the Armed Forces, Economy and Finance and Higher Education, Research and Innovation. It operates from the Toulouse Spac ...

(ESA),

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency The is the Japanese national Aeronautics, air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satell ...

(JAXA), and the

Max Planck Institute for Astronomy The Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, MPIA) is a research institute of the Max Planck Society (MPG). It is located in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany near the top of the Königstuhl (Odenwald), Kön ...

have joined with NASA to provide various components and science support for Roman. Beginning in 2016 NASA expressed interest in ESA contributions to the spacecraft, coronagraph and ground station support. For the coronagraph instrument, contributions from

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

have been established. In 2018, a contribution from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

was under consideration, namely the filter wheels for the star-blocking mask inside the coronagraph. In 2016, the Japanese space agency

JAXA The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into o ...

proposed to add a polarization module for the coronagraph, plus a polarization compensator. An accurate polarimetry capability on Roman may strengthen the science case for exoplanets and planetary disks, which shows polarization. Ground support will be provided by a new NASA station in White Sands, the Misada station in Japan and ESAs

New Norcia station New Norcia Station (also known as NNO) is an ESTRACK Earth stations in Australia, Earth station in Australia for communication with spacecraft after launch, in low Earth orbit, in geostationary orbit and in deep space. It is located south of ...

in Australia.

Construction contracts

In May 2018, NASA awarded a multi-year contract to

Ball Aerospace Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., commonly Ball Aerospace, was an American manufacturer of spacecraft, components and instruments for national defense, civil space and commercial space applications. Until 2024, the firm was a wholly owned subs ...

to provide key components (the WFI Opto-Mechanical Assembly) for the Wide-Field Instrument on Roman. In June 2018, NASA awarded a contract to Teledyne Scientific and Imaging to provide the infrared detectors for the Wide-Field Instrument. On 30 November 2018, NASA announced it had awarded the contract for Optical Telescope Assembly to the

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

Gallery

File:Roman phatSIM clean smaller.jpg, A simulated image of part of the

Andromeda Galaxy The Andromeda Galaxy is a barred spiral galaxy and is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way. It was originally named the Andromeda Nebula and is cataloged as Messier 31, M31, and NGC 224. Andromeda has a Galaxy#Isophotal diameter, D25 isop ...

File:Wfirst-detail-annot.png, This simulated image showcases the red and infrared light of more than 50 million stars in Andromeda, as they would appear with WFIRST File:Roman phatSIM context annotated.jpg, A composite figure shows the region of Andromeda covered by the Roman Space Telescope simulation. Roman would be able to image the main body of Andromeda in just a few pointings, surveying the galaxy nearly 1500 times faster than Hubble.

References

External links

Roman page at Goddard Space Flight Center site

Roman Science Data Center page at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC)

–

Space.com Space.com is an online publication focused on outer space, space exploration, astronomy, skywatching and entertainment, with editorial teams based in the United States and United Kingdom. Launched on July 20, 1999, the website offers live coverag ...

The WFIRST/AFTA astrophysics mission: bigger and better for exoplanets
, Tom Greene * * 30 May 2014 * 16 March 2015 * 18 February 2016 {{Portal bar, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System Infrared telescopes Space telescopes Future spaceflights Proposed NASA space probes NASA programs Exoplanet search projects Goddard Space Flight Center 2026 in spaceflight Dark energy