The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) dated July 20,Space telescope “Nancy Grace Roman”about,Launch contract signed with SpaceXannounced that it wasThe total contract value, including launch services and other mission-related costs, is approximately $255 million.“Falcon Heavy”Rockets are used.
The Roman Space TelescopeAccelerating expansion of the universeor enigmaticdark energy (dark energy), and more recent discoveriesexoplanetA space telescope planned to be launched to conduct observations related to . Its name isNASA’s first chief astronomerserved asMs. Nancy Grace Romanis derived fromMr. Roman recognized the need for a space telescope early on and worked hard to realize it.“Mother of the Hubble Space Telescope”Also called
connection:NASA’s new space telescope to be named ‘Nancy Grace Roman’
For the Roman Space TelescopePrimary mirror with a diameter of 2.4m(the same size as the Hubble Space Telescope’s primary mirror), along with two observation instruments. The first is a wide-field near-infrared camera「WFI(Wide Field Instrument)」is. WFI is a 300-million-pixel imaging device that can acquire high-definition images comparable to the Hubble Space Telescope while having a field of view that is 100 times wider than that of the Hubble Space Telescope.
The second is the Stellar coronagraphdevice for technical demonstration.「CGI(Coronagraph Instrument)」
is. By blocking the strong light emitted by the star, the CGI will be installed to directly observe the extrasolar planets and debris disks around the star in visible light and near-infrared. The Roman Space Telescope equipped with CGI is said to be able to observe planets that are only one billionth of the brightness of fixed stars.
[▲ Comparing the field of view of the Roman Space Telescope (outside) and the field of view of the Hubble Space Telescope (center) (Credit: GSFC)]According to NASA, the Roman Space TelescopeOctober 2026It will be launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA at the 39A launch pad.After launch, the Roman Space Telescope is one of the Sun-Earth Lagrangian points「L2」(The distance from the earth is about 1.5 million km).Operation period isfor 5 years(with possible extension for another five years).By the way, in the vicinity of L2 between the sun and the earth, we started scientific observation the other day“James Webb”
Space telescopes are also making observations.Japanese research teams such as the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are also participating in the Roman Space Telescope project.“Subaru Telescope”
[▲ SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket used to launch the Roman Space Telescope (photographed in February 2018) (Credit: SpaceX)]
How will the Roman Space Telescope tackle the mystery of dark energy?
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- Image Credit: GSFC/SVS NASA
- – NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Roman Space Telescope NASA
– Roman Space Telescope/NASA
Text/Matsumura Takehiro