Date set: Nasa’s powerful new telescope is ready to launch

• The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is scheduled to launch on 30 August aboard an Elon Musk SpaceX rocket from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
• This new observatory will be capable of capturing images at least 100 times larger than the existing Hubble telescope.
• Its mission includes studying thousands of planets beyond our solar system to determine their resemblance to Earth and conducting a statistical census of planetary systems.
• The telescope will also investigate the riddle of dark energy and its role in the universe's accelerating expansion.
• Named after Nasa ’s first chief astronomer, the Roman telescope is expected to conduct revolutionary surveys that will impact every area of astronomy.

IN FULL

The universe’s greatest mysteries could be solved with Nasa’s new launch