Massive Science: Meet Nancy Grace Roman, the “Mother” of the Hubble Space Telescope

She discovered fundamental truths about stars and galaxies, and also shaped NASA into what we know it as today

Some of her research forms the foundations of our current knowledge about stars and how our galaxy formed.

In 1959, she officially joined NASA as the first Head of Observational Astronomy.

In 1971, Roman assembled a group to design the systems that would become the basis of the Hubble Space Telescope, laying the foundations for this monumental mission.

Ahead of her time — as a woman a scientist before that role was widely accepted, as an observational astronomer before the digital age — Nancy Grace Roman shaped the field of astronomy, enabling decades of scientific discovery not only with Hubble, but with all space telescopes, forever changing our understanding of our place in the universe.

by Briley Lewis


Science Topics
Astronomy
Women & Girls, Role Models
Astronomer
High School
9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade, Adults

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