Where will Roman operate?
Roman is headed to a region of space called Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 2, about 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 miles) away from Earth. There, the gravitational pull of the Sun and Earth balances in a way that allows the spacecraft to remain in a stable, efficient orbit. The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope is also located around Lagrange Point 2, though the two observatories are expected to fly in very different orbits.
After roughly 90 days of commissioning, the telescope will begin science operations at the beginning of 2027. Its primary mission is slated to last five years. If all goes well, though, Roman could continue operating for more than twice as long.
What sort of cool photos should we expect to see?
Think of the images that Hubble introduced to the world — upgraded. At certain optical and infrared wavelengths, Roman will be able to take images just as sharp as Hubble’s but capture 100 times more of the sky in a single shot. This means that, combined with other upgrades, Roman will be able to survey the sky about 100 to 1,500 times faster than Hubble could. JWST, on the other hand, is more sensitive than Roman will be but has a view of the sky about as narrow as Hubble’s. With Roman, we can expect breathtaking, broader views that capture rare objects and events in the Cosmos.