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NASA Launches Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope to Map the Cosmos

8 sources across 7 countries

Who reported this

  • G1 Brazil · Centre-left · Grupo Globo (Marinho family)
  • CNN Brasil Brazil · Centre · Rubens Menin (MRV)
  • Infobae Argentina · Centre-right · Daniel Hadad
  • France 24 France · Centre · Public · France Medias Monde (French state holding)
  • Telex Hungary · Centre · Reader-funded, staff-owned
  • Asahi Shimbun Japan · Centre-left · Asahi Shimbun Company (family and employee held)
  • El Pais Spain · Centre-left · Grupo PRISA
  • CNN United States · Centre-left · Warner Bros. Discovery

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NASA is launching the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on Sunday, August 30, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The observatory will be carried into space by a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Once launched, the telescope will travel to the Lagrange point 2, located approximately 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, where it will operate for a primary mission duration of five years, though it is designed to potentially function for up to a decade.

The telescope is named after Nancy Grace Roman, NASA's first chief of astronomy and a pioneer who helped pave the way for the Hubble Space Telescope. The project represents a significant financial investment, with estimates ranging from 3.2 billion to 4.3 billion dollars. The observatory is equipped with a 2.4 meter primary mirror, which is the same size as the Hubble's mirror, but it features a field of view more than 100 times larger. This allows the Roman telescope to survey the sky up to 1,000 times faster than Hubble.

Scientists intend to use the telescope as a discovery machine to investigate dark energy, dark matter, and exoplanets. While the James Webb Space Telescope focuses on small areas with high detail, the Roman telescope will provide a panoramic view of the universe. This complementary relationship allows the Roman telescope to identify rare objects or galaxies that the Webb can then study in greater depth. The telescope is expected to generate massive amounts of data, with estimates of approximately 1 to 1.3 terabytes per day.

International cooperation is a key component of the mission. Research institutions in Japan, including Osaka University and JAXA, are participating in data reception and joint observations. The mission aims to create a new atlas of the universe and test current models of cosmic expansion.

How each side framed it

Centre-left
These outlets emphasized the technical synergy between the Roman and Webb telescopes and the legacy of Nancy Grace Roman.
Centre
These outlets focused on the mission's timeline, the specific scientific mysteries being investigated, and the project's cost.
Centre-right
This outlet highlighted the potential for the mission to prove current standard models of the universe incorrect.

Sources

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