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Exploring Cosmology, Exoplanets, and Infrared Astrophysics at 100x the scale of Hubble

Delving into the mysteries of dark energy

The Roman Space Telescope will delve into the mystery of dark energy by studying how the distribution of galaxies and dark matter has changed throughout cosmic history.

Discovering thousands of exoplanets

The Roman Space Telescope will complete the statistical census of planetary systems in the galaxy by using microlensing, the universe’s own magnifying glass, to find thousands of exoplanets.

Leading future exoplanet missions

The Roman Space Telescope will use a technique called coronagraphy to block the glaring light of exoplanet host stars to directly see planets and planet-forming disks. The Coronagraph Instrument is an advanced technology demonstrator for future exoplanet missions.

Roman is on its way to L2! Follow its status here.

Presentation videos from Shifting Landscapes in Astrophysics: New Frontiers to Explore with Roman are available on this YouTube playlist!

The Cycle 1 results have been announced! See the list of approved programs here.

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Important Dates

  • August 30, 2026
    • Roman has launched.
  • October 15, 2026
    • Roman Virtual Lecture Series: TBA
      4-4:30 PM EDT/1-1:30 PM PDT

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Road to roman

Road to Roman:
How to do science with Roman
Latest News
Cgi mask

September 15th, 2026

NASA Activates Roman’s Primary Instrument, Checks Out Coronagraph

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team has successfully activated the Wide Field Instrument, a 300-megapixel infrared camera that will allow scientists to explore wide swaths of the cosmos very quickly without sacrificing exquisite detail. Roman’s planet imager — the Coronagraph Instrument — also stretched its digital, electronic, and mechanical “limbs” as part of an initial test after waking up earlier this month.

The Roman Space Telescope and IPAC

Caltech/IPAC hosts the Roman Science Support Center (SSC). The responsibilities of the SSC include Coronagraph Instrument operations, science level processing of spectroscopic and microlensing WFI data, General Astrophysics proposal and grants management, and community engagement. The SSC also curates up to date telescope and instrument parameters and Roman science simulations and tools for the scientific community.