Wide-field Infrared Survey Telescope

Wide-field Infrared Survey Telescope
Name	Wide-field Infrared Survey Telescope
Other names	WFIRST, Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
Mission type	Space telescope
Operator	National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Mission duration	Planned 5–10 years
Launch mass	~5,000 kg (planned)
Power	Solar arrays
Launch date	Planned (originally 2020s)
Launch site	Kennedy Space Center
Orbit	Sun–Earth L2 (planned)
Telescope type	Infrared, reflecting
Diameter	2.4 m
Instruments	Wide-Field Instrument, Coronagraph Instrument

Wide-field Infrared Survey Telescope is a planned space observatory developed by National Aeronautics and Space Administration to conduct wide-field infrared surveys of the sky, perform exoplanet microlensing, and study dark energy. The mission was renamed in honor of Nancy Grace Roman, a key figure in the development of space astronomy, while incorporating hardware heritage from the Hubble Space Telescope optical design. The project involves partnerships with institutions such as Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Ball Aerospace, and Lockheed Martin.

Overview

The mission integrates a 2.4-meter primary mirror similar to that used by Hubble Space Telescope and leverages instruments built by teams from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Space Telescope Science Institute, and contractors including Northrop Grumman. Key heritage comes from previous observatories like Spitzer Space Telescope, James Webb Space Telescope, Kepler, WISE, Chandra X-ray Observatory, Gaia, Herschel Space Observatory, Planck (spacecraft), COBE, and IRAS. Scientific collaborations include researchers from California Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Princeton University, and University of California, Berkeley. The mission is central to priorities set by the Decadal Survey and overseen by NASA Science Mission Directorate.

Mission History and Development

Origins trace to studies commissioned by the Astrophysics Division and recommendations from the Astrophysics Decadal Survey led by panels that included representatives from American Astronomical Society, Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics, and advisory boards tied to National Research Council (United States). Early concepts were influenced by projects such as Dark Energy Survey and proposals like Joint Dark Energy Mission. Congressional oversight involved committees including the United States House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Programmatic milestones intersected with budgets from Office of Management and Budget reviews and milestones tracked by Government Accountability Office audits. Leadership changes and cost reassessments mirrored experiences from James Webb Space Telescope and prompted reviews by panels chaired by figures similar to those in National Academy of Sciences reports.

Spacecraft and Instrumentation

The payload comprises a Wide-Field Instrument with a large focal plane array of detectors developed with contributions from Teledyne Technologies and optics contractors like Ball Aerospace. A Coronagraph Instrument, intended to demonstrate high-contrast imaging and starlight suppression, draws on technology tested on missions and labs associated with Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA Ames Research Center, and testbeds funded by NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts. Thermal and structural engineering teams included personnel from Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Boeing Defense, Space & Security. Ground systems and science operations planning were coordinated with Space Telescope Science Institute and data centers at institutions such as Caltech/IPAC and National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory. Integration and testing phases followed lessons from Hubble servicing mission protocols and James Webb cryogenic testing campaigns.

Science Objectives and Surveys

Primary science goals encompass investigations into dark energy via baryon acoustic oscillations and supernova surveys, weak gravitational lensing studies linked to datasets from Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Dark Energy Survey, and exoplanet demographics through microlensing surveys building on results from OGLE and MOA. The mission aims to map galaxies and large-scale structure with synergy with Euclid (spacecraft), LSST (Vera C. Rubin Observatory), and radio surveys like Square Kilometre Array. Time-domain surveys will coordinate with facilities such as Zwicky Transient Facility and Pan-STARRS. Exoplanet direct imaging demonstrations could complement work by Kepler and TESS and inform future missions following concepts like HabEx and LUVOIR. Galactic archaeology links to projects at European Southern Observatory observatories and spectroscopic surveys from Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV and WEAVE.

Launch, Orbit, and Operations

Launch planning referenced vehicle options from providers like United Launch Alliance and SpaceX and considered launch sites including Kennedy Space Center and Vandenberg Space Force Base. Stationkeeping and mission operations were projected for a halo orbit around Sun–Earth Lagrange point L2 with mission operations coordinated by NASA Deep Space Network and science scheduling managed by Space Telescope Science Institute. Operations concepts incorporated contingency planning used by Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory operations teams and relied on telemetry, tracking, and command infrastructure shared with missions like James Webb Space Telescope.

Data Processing and Public Data Release

Data processing pipelines were designed drawing on expertise from Space Telescope Science Institute, IPAC, STScI Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes, and community archives such as NASA Exoplanet Archive and Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes. Data products expected to follow open-data policies similar to those applied to Kepler, Gaia, and Sloan Digital Sky Survey, with proprietary periods and community-led science teams modeled on Hubble Treasury programs and legacy surveys like COSMOS. Archive access and cross-matching tools planned to interoperate with services from Virtual Observatory initiatives and catalogs like 2MASS and AllWISE.

Controversies and Policy Issues

The mission encountered debates over cost growth and scope, prompting comparisons to James Webb Space Telescope cost overruns and prompting scrutiny by Government Accountability Office and Congressional Budget Office analyses. Decisions to repurpose a telescope asset from existing inventories raised discussions involving Smithsonian Institution stakeholders and raised intellectual property and procurement questions that engaged firms such as PerkinElmer in procurement histories. Scientific prioritization debates referenced recommendations from the Decadal Survey and elicited commentary from members of American Astronomical Society and budgetary oversight hearings in the United States Congress. International collaborations and data-sharing policies prompted negotiations akin to those surrounding Euclid and prompted participation discussions with agencies like European Space Agency and national research councils including Science and Technology Facilities Council.

Category:NASA space telescopes