The US Space Agency (NASA) announced the launch of its new “Roman” space telescope, designed specifically to scan vast areas of the universe in search of exoplanets, and answer the greatest mysteries of physics related to dark matter and energy.
In this regard, NASA Director Jared Isaacman, from the agency’s Goddard Center in Maryland (eastern United States), stated that this advanced telescope “will provide Earth with a new atlas of the universe.”
The telescope, which is more than 12 meters long and equipped with large solar panels, will be transported to Florida in preparation for its launch into space as soon as the beginning of September, using a SpaceX rocket.
The name “Roman” was given to this telescope, whose cost exceeded four billion dollars, in honor of Nancy Grace Roman, one of the most prominent American astronomers and nicknamed “Mother of Hubble,” in reference to NASA’s famous “Hubble” telescope.
From an observation point 1.5 million kilometers away from planet Earth, Roman will scan vast areas of the sky thanks to its wide field of vision, which exceeds Hubble’s field of vision by more than a hundred times.
Systems engineer on the “Roman” mission, Mark Milton, explained to Agence France-Presse that the new telescope will send to Earth “11 terabytes of data per day, which means that the amount of data it will provide in the first year alone exceeds what the Hubble Telescope has collected throughout its operation” since it began operating 35 years ago.
Nikki Fox, responsible for scientific activities at NASA, expected that “Roman” would contribute, thanks to its wide-angle lens, to “the discovery of tens of thousands of new planets,” in addition to “thousands of supernovas,” which are massive stars that are approaching the end of their life cycle.
However, Roman also aims to study the unseen, namely the dark matter and energy that is believed to make up 95% of the universe.
