NASA Activates Roman’s 300-Megapixel Camera, Tests Coronagraph on Route to L2
Updated
Updated · Science@NASA · Sep 15
NASA Activates Roman’s 300-Megapixel Camera, Tests Coronagraph on Route to L2
3 articles · Updated · Science@NASA · Sep 15
Summary
NASA confirmed Roman’s Wide Field Instrument is operating in space after activating the telescope’s 18 infrared detectors and sending test data to engineers on the ground.
The 300-megapixel camera was cooled from minus 85F to minus 225F before startup, while engineers also checked its calibration system, optics wheel and focus mechanism in zero gravity.
Those tests found the instrument working as expected as its detectors continue cooling toward a final operating temperature near minus 300F during Roman’s million-mile trip to the L2 point.
Roman’s coronagraph also passed an initial checkout, with operators verifying communications, thermal control and movable masks, filters, lenses and prisms designed to directly image exoplanets.
The coronagraph now enters a 30-day decontamination phase, and the mission still targets releasing Roman’s first science images in early 2027.