- Died:
- December 25, 2018, Germantown, Maryland (aged 93)
- On the Web:
- NASA Science - Dr. Nancy Grace Roman (1925-2018) (Oct. 19, 2026)
Nancy Grace Roman
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Who was Nancy Grace Roman?
Nancy Grace Roman (1925-2018) was an American astronomer known as the "Mother of Hubble" for her instrumental role in planning and developing the Hubble Space Telescope.
From a young age, Roman was fascinated with astronomy. She obtained a doctorate in astronomy in 1949 from the University of Chicago. After feeling that a tenured position would be unlikely for a woman, Roman worked in radio astronomy at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). In 1959, she became NASA’s first woman executive as chief of their astronomy program. At NASA, Roman helped develop pointing systems for space observatories and promoted space astronomy in different areas of the light spectrum. She worked with the astronomical community to make the space telescope a reality, which Congress funded in 1977. After retiring from NASA in 1979, she remained involved with the HST project as a consultant. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, scheduled to launch in the mid-2020s, was named in her honor.
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What is Nancy Grace Roman best known for in astronomy?
Nancy Grace Roman (1925–2018) was an American astronomer celebrated for her pivotal role in the development of the Hubble Space Telescope, earning her the title "Mother of Hubble". As NASA's first chief of astronomy, she championed space-based observatories and encouraged advancements across the light spectrum. Roman also advocated for the orbiting space telescope, convincing Congress to fund the project that would eventually become the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, set to launch in the mid-2020s, was named in her honor.
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What important role did she play at NASA?
Nancy Grace Roman was NASA's first woman executive and chief of astronomy programs. In this role, she helped develop pointing systems for space observatories and promoted space astronomy across the light spectrum. She collaborated with the astronomical community to make the space telescope a reality, securing congressional funding in 1977. The Hubble Space Telescope (HST), launched in 1990, provided unprecedented images, and Roman's early advocacy earned her the nickname "Mother of Hubble".
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How did Nancy Grace Roman help create the Hubble Space Telescope?
Nancy Grace Roman, known as the "Mother of Hubble," was critical to the Hubble Space Telescope's development. After NASA was established in 1958, she became the first woman executive there, heading NASA's astronomy program. She collaborated with various NASA departments to create pointing systems for space observatories. Roman also promoted space astronomy in light spectrum areas that ground-based telescopes couldn't observe, such as X-rays, gamma rays, and ultraviolet. From the 1960s, she worked with the astronomical community to make the space telescope a reality, and in 1977, she secured congressional funding for the project. Launched in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope provides much clearer images than those from Earth.
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Why was she sometimes called the 'Mother of Hubble'?
Nancy Grace Roman was dubbed the "Mother of Hubble" because she was instrumental in the planning and development of the Hubble Space Telescope. After the establishment of NASA in 1958, Roman became the first woman executive as chief of their astronomy program. She worked closely with other departments at NASA to develop pointing systems for space observatories to acquire and track objects, and she encouraged the development of space astronomy in areas of the light spectrum that could not be observed from the ground.
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How did Nancy Grace Roman's work change the field of astronomy for future generations?
Nancy Grace Roman significantly shaped astronomy's future. As NASA's first chief of astronomy, she spearheaded the development of space-based observatories, including the Hubble Space Telescope. Her advocacy and planning were crucial in making the telescope a reality, enabling observations free from atmospheric interference. Roman also championed exploring light spectrums like X-rays and ultraviolet, opening new avenues for astronomical research. Her work paved the way for future generations of astronomers to explore the universe with unprecedented clarity and detail.
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Nancy Grace Roman (born May 16, 1925, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.—died December 25, 2018, Germantown, Maryland) was an American astronomer who was instrumental in the planning and development of the Hubble Space Telescope. For her work she was dubbed the “Mother of Hubble.”
When Roman was young, her mother used to take her outside at night so she could learn about the constellations, and she was entranced with astronomy from then on. Roman attended Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and graduated in 1946 with a bachelor’s degree in astronomy. She earned a doctorate in astronomy in 1949 from the University of Chicago in Illinois, which operated Yerkes Observatory at Williams Bay in southeastern Wisconsin.
After completing her doctorate, Roman taught and did research at Yerkes. However, she felt that she, as a woman, would be unlikely to get a tenured post at a university, so in 1955 she took a job in the then-new field of radio astronomy at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, D.C. There she mapped the Milky Way Galaxy and helped make the first radar measurements calculating the distance to the Moon.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was established in 1958, and Roman was asked if she knew anyone at NRL who could head NASA’s astronomy program. Although Roman had not been involved in NRL’s space activities like the Vanguard project, she later said that she could not turn down an opportunity to have such a huge influence on astronomy. The next year Roman became NASA’s first woman executive as chief of their astronomy program.
Space astronomy was a brand-new field, and Roman worked closely with other departments at NASA to develop pointing systems for space observatories to acquire and track objects. She also encouraged the development of space astronomy in areas of the light spectrum, such as X-rays and gamma rays and the ultraviolet, that could not be observed from the ground. Among the successful programs developed under her leadership were the Orbiting Astronomical Observatories and the Small Astronomy Satellites, the earliest of which, Uhuru, performed the first complete survey of the sky using X-rays. The International Ultraviolet Explorer was a particular success. It launched in 1978 and lasted almost 16 years beyond its projected three-year lifetime.
As early as 1946, American astronomer Lyman Spitzer had begun urging the United States government to launch an orbiting space telescope to record astronomical phenomena without interference from Earth’s atmosphere. Beginning in the 1960s, Roman worked with the astronomical community to make the space telescope a reality. In 1977 Congress approved the funding of the space telescope. (Writing to Congress in favor of the project, Roman submitted that “for the price of a night at the movies every taxpayer would receive fifteen years of exciting scientific results.”) The space telescope became the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), which was launched into orbit above the atmosphere in 1990. The HST provides images with much greater brightness, clarity, and detail than ground-based telescopes do.
Roman retired from NASA in 1979 but stayed involved with the HST project through consultant work. She subsequently worked part-time at the Astronomical Data Center at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. There she improved the readability of astronomical catalogs. In 1995–96 she served as the director of the center. Roman left Goddard in 1997 to concentrate on volunteer activities. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, launched in August 2026, is named in her honor.
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