The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, set to launch as early as fall 2026, faces significant funding cuts in the Trump administration’s proposed 2026 budget. Despite being completed under budget and ahead of schedule, the $3.5 billion mission will be scrapped if the proposal is approved.
Designed to explore dark energy, locate exoplanets, and conduct massive surveys of the universe in infrared light, Roman will complement the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), not duplicate it. Scientists hail it as “200 Hubbles” due to its enormous field of view and high-resolution capabilities.
The telescope’s unique design, including a starlight-blocking coronagraph, could bring humanity closer to answering whether life exists elsewhere in the galaxy. However, a leaked budget draft proposes slashing NASA’s astrophysics division by two-thirds and eliminating funding for Roman, JWST, and other telescopes outside of these two.
This is not the first attempt to kill the Roman Space Telescope; previous efforts were foiled by bipartisan support in Congress. Despite this, scientists and lawmakers are hopeful that this proposal will be reversed as well.
Canceling Roman would deal a significant blow to humanity’s pursuit of understanding the universe. It would also harm ongoing climate change research and NASA’s upcoming mission to Venus. The budget proposal threatens American-driven science endeavors and our efforts to combat climate change, which is a key priority for the Trump administration.
Source: https://bgr.com/science/trump-wants-to-kill-one-of-the-biggest-space-missions-of-our-lifetime