Why in News?

NASA has launched the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, a new space observatory designed to study some of the biggest mysteries of the universe, including dark matter, dark energy and exoplanets. The telescope was launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The mission is expected to operate for at least five years, with the possibility of extending it further.

Key Highlights

• Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is NASA’s new flagship space telescope.
• It was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.
• The project has an estimated cost of around $4 billion.
• It will study dark matter, dark energy and the expansion of the universe.
• The telescope will also search for exoplanets, or planets outside our Solar System.
• Roman will be positioned near Lagrange Point 2 (L2), about 1.6 million km from Earth.
• Its primary mission is planned for five years, although it may operate for longer.
• Roman is designed to survey large portions of the sky much faster than the Hubble Space Telescope.
• Its major survey is expected to cover more than two billion galaxies.