Nancy Grace Roman is the American astronomer who gives her name to NASA's new space telescope, launched on Sunday, the 30th. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope began a journey of about a million miles to its future orbital position at the L2 point, where the James Webb telescope is also located.
The choice of the name is a tribute to the career of a scientist who played a central role in space astronomy in the United States. Nicknamed the "Mother of Hubble," Nancy Grace Roman was the first woman to hold an executive position at NASA and the first chief of astronomy at the agency.
Born in Nashville, in the American state of Tennessee, in 1925, Nancy was the daughter of a music teacher and a professor. Her legacy in astronomy and her contribution to the American space agency were recognized with this prestigious honor.
