Roman Space Telescope

Roman Space Telescope
NASA · Public domain · source
Name	Roman Space Telescope
Mission type	Space telescope
Operator	NASA
Launch date	planned 2027 (slip possible)
Spacecraft	observatory
Instruments	Wide Field Instrument, Coronagraph Instrument
Mass	~ ? kg
Orbit	Sun–Earth L2

Roman Space Telescope

The Roman Space Telescope is a NASA-funded space observatory developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and managed by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center with instrumentation contributions from institutions including the California Institute of Technology, the Space Telescope Science Institute, and the University of California, Berkeley. The mission follows a lineage of space observatories such as the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope, and the Spitzer Space Telescope and is designed to perform wide-field infrared surveys and high-contrast coronagraphy to advance astrophysics research connected with dark energy, exoplanets, and galactic structure. The project integrates engineering efforts from contractors like Ball Aerospace and design heritage from programs including the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope concept and technological demonstrations from the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope predecessor concepts.

Overview and Mission Objectives

The mission objectives include precision measurements of cosmic acceleration related to the Dark Energy Survey, high-latitude wide-field imaging akin to surveys such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and direct imaging technologies relevant to the HabEx and LUVOIR mission studies. The telescope will execute a High Latitude Survey, a Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey that echoes techniques used by the Kepler and K2 missions, and coronagraph demonstrations that inform future flagship missions prioritized by the Astrophysics Decadal Survey. Management goals align with standards from the National Academy of Sciences (United States), coordination with the European Space Agency, and partnerships similar to those between NASA and organizations like the Canadian Space Agency.

Design and Instruments

The spacecraft design features a 2.4-meter primary mirror, optical train derived from assets similar to those used in the Hubble Space Telescope and deployment lessons from the James Webb Space Telescope. The primary instruments are the Wide Field Instrument (WFI), offering a field of view orders of magnitude larger than that of Hubble with infrared detectors developed with heritage from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer detectors, and the Coronagraph Instrument (CGI), a high-contrast imager and spectrograph built to demonstrate technologies relevant to missions such as WFIRST concepts and future probes advocated by the Exoplanet Exploration Program. Thermal and pointing control use attitude control systems comparable to those of the Gaia mission and communication approaches modeled on the Deep Space Network.

Science Goals and Surveys

Key science goals target the nature of cosmic acceleration through multiple probes: Type Ia supernovae observations like those performed by the Supernova Cosmology Project and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II Supernova Survey; baryon acoustic oscillation measurements paralleling analyses from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey; weak gravitational lensing studies building on methodologies from the Kilo-Degree Survey and the Dark Energy Survey; and microlensing exoplanet surveys extending work from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment and the Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics collaboration. The coronagraph technology aims to image and spectrally characterize exoplanets similarly to efforts by the Keck Observatory adaptive optics programs and the European Southern Observatory high-contrast instruments. Synergies are planned with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (now Vera C. Rubin Observatory), the Euclid mission, and ground-based facilities such as the ALMA array and the Very Large Telescope.

Mission History and Development

The mission traces roots to recommendations from the Decadal Survey committees and programmatic studies at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Ames Research Center. Conceptual development built on prior proposals including the WFIRST designs and technology maturation funded through programs like the NASA Explorer Program and cooperative testbeds at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Significant milestone reviews included Preliminary Design Review and Critical Design Review processes overseen by the NASA Office of Chief Engineer and the mission passed through integration stages with contractors such as Northrop Grumman and instrument teams from institutions like the University of California, Los Angeles.

Launch and Operations

The observatory is planned to launch to a halo orbit around the Sun–Earth L2 Lagrange point, leveraging operational lessons from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe and the Planck mission. Launch vehicle selection and manifest coordination have involved entities such as the United Launch Alliance and commercial providers exemplified by SpaceX, and operations will be conducted from mission control centers including the Goddard Flight Facility with science operations coordinated by the Space Telescope Science Institute. Routine mission phases include commissioning, primary science operations, extended mission planning, and potential guest observer programs similar to those run for the Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope.

Data Processing and Community Involvement

Data management will employ pipelines and archiving strategies developed with the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes and data analysis software used by communities associated with the Astrophysics Data System and the National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory. Community engagement will include legacy surveys, guest investigator programs modeled after calls by the NASA Science Mission Directorate, and coordinated follow-up with observatories such as the Keck Observatory, the Subaru Telescope, and the European Southern Observatory. Education and public outreach efforts will mirror partnerships seen in projects with the Smithsonian Institution and science communication initiatives supported by the National Science Foundation.

Category:Space telescopes