What is the Roman Space Telescope?

Named for Nancy Grace Roman, the Roman Space Telescope (formerly, the Wide Field InfraRed Survey Telescope, or WFIRST) is a NASA observatory designed to settle essential questions in the areas of dark energy, exoplanets and infrared astrophysics. The telescope has a primary mirror that is 2.4 meters (7.9 feet) in diameter and is the same size as the Hubble Space Telescope's primary mirror. The Roman Space Telescope is designed to have two instruments, the Wide Field Instrument and a technology demonstration Coronagraph Instrument. The Wide Field Instrument will have a field of view that is 100 times greater than the Hubble infrared instrument, allowing it to capture more of the sky with less observing time. The Coronagraph Instrument will perform high contrast imaging and spectroscopy of individual nearby exoplanets.

For more information about the Roman Space Telescope, go to: https://www.nasa.gov/roman.

Virtually tour an interactive version of Roman (credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center).

Watch the assembly of the Roman Space Telescope (credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center)!