Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
NASA s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team recently flight-certified all 24 of the detectors the mission needs. When Roman launches in the mid-2020s, these devices will convert starlight into electrical signals, which will then be decoded into 300-megapixel images of large patches of the sky. These images will allow astronomers to explore a vast array of celestial objects and phenomena, bringing us closer to solving many pressing cosmic mysteries. As the telescope s eyes, Roman s detectors will enable all of the mission s science, said John Gygax, the focal plane system manager for the Roman Space Telescope at NASA s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Now, based on our testing results, our team can confirm these infrared detectors meet all the requirements for Roman s purposes.
For instance, NASA will be using the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft to send astronauts back to the Moon starting in 2024. The core of the Gateway - the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) - will also be launched by 2024 using a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.
Paired with a reusable lunar lander, this orbital habitat will allow for long-duration missions to the lunar surface. Between 2024 and 2028, NASA also intends to add the International Habitation Module (I-HAB), the European System Providing Refueling, Infrastructure and Telecommunications (ESPRIT), and possibly more modules to the Gateway.
NASA to probe cosmic secrets using exploding stars
By IANS |
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NASA to probe cosmic secrets using exploding stars. Image Source: IANS News
Washington, May 28 : NASA s new next-generation space telescope, currently under development, will see thousands of exploding stars called supernovae across vast stretches of time and space.
Using these observations, astronomers aim to shine a light on several cosmic mysteries, providing a window onto the universe s distant past and hazy present.
Earlier known as Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope, it is now named the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, after NASA s first Chief of Astronomy.
Roman s supernova survey will help clear up clashing measurements of how fast the universe is currently expanding, and even provide a new way to probe the distribution of dark matter, which is detectable only through its gravitational effects.
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