Technicians installed a commemorative plaque, seen in this July 28, 2026, photo, on NASAтАЩs Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The plaque honors the legacy of Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, NASAтАЩs first chief astronomer and one of the architects of the agencyтАЩs modern science program. It also features a memory card containing a total of 1,350,144 names submitted by people from across the globe, including astronauts from NASAтАЩs Artemis II and Artemis III missions.
This observatory, scheduled to launch Aug. 30, 2026, will be able to block starlight to directly see exoplanets and planet-forming disks, complete a statistical census of planetary systems in our galaxy, and settle essential questions in the areas of dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics.
Image credit: NASA/Jolearra Tshiteya
