Shape-shifting mirrors on NASA’s new space telescope could unveil Jupiters like our own
NASA's upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will feature an active coronagraph designed to block starlight, allowing for the direct imaging of exoplanets. This technology aims to help astronomers study dark matter and identify Earth-like planets in other solar systems.
Why it matters
Advancements in space imaging technology are critical for expanding our understanding of the universe and potentially discovering habitable worlds beyond our own.
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will be the first space telescope to use an “active coronagraph” to block out unwanted starlight.
When NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launches, as early as the end of next month, it will attempt one of astronomy’s most precise disappearing acts to date. The telescope will carry the first space-bound “active” coronagraph, an instrument that effectively erases most of the light from a star during photography.
It will allow astronomers to take the first pictures of planets orbiting other stars that are similar to those in our solar system. Ultimately, it could pave the way for a future mission that could snap the first photos of Earth-like worlds.
“I hope it’s remembered for it being that critical stepping stone for … finding Earth 2.0,” says Brandon Creager, the instrument’s lead mechanical engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
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