Real Life: Nasa’s head of science on its latest mission and the search for life

Nasa’s head of science, Dr Nicola Fox. Photo / Nasa

Nasa has launched a new space telescope designed to map huge areas of the universe faster than the Hubble Space Telescope.

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is said to feature a field of view “at least 100 times larger” than Hubble’s, potentially allowing it to measure light from a billion galaxies in its lifetime.

One of the people overseeing this mission is Nasa’s head of science, Dr Nicola Fox.

Fox spoke to Real Life with John Cowan on Newstalk ZB on Sunday night about the journey that led her to one of Nasa’s most senior roles and the scientific questions that remain on her mind.

Long before Nasa became part of her life, when she was growing up in England, Fox’s fascination with the universe was nurtured by her father.