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1 year ago

Black Scientists and Engineers Past and Present Enable NASA Space Telescope

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is NASA’s next flagship astrophysics mission, set to launch by May 2027. We’re currently integrating parts of the spacecraft in the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center clean room.

Once Roman launches, it will allow astronomers to observe the universe like never before. In celebration of Black History Month, let’s get to know some Black scientists and engineers, past and present, whose contributions will allow Roman to make history.

Black woman sitting in front of a camera that is slightly off-frame. She is wearing a brown sweater with a white collared shirt underneath. There are images of Earth from space behind her. Credit: NASA

Dr. Beth Brown

The late Dr. Beth Brown worked at NASA Goddard as an astrophysicist. in 1998, Dr. Brown became the first Black American woman to earn a Ph.D. in astronomy at the University of Michigan. While at Goddard, Dr. Brown used data from two NASA X-ray missions – ROSAT (the ROentgen SATellite) and the Chandra X-ray Observatory – to study elliptical galaxies that she believed contained supermassive black holes.

With Roman’s wide field of view and fast survey speeds, astronomers will be able to expand the search for black holes that wander the galaxy without anything nearby to clue us into their presence.

Black-and-white photograph of a Black man standing in front of a chalkboard. He is wearing a dark-colored blazer with a light-colored collared button-up underneath. Credit: courtesy of Georgetown University Archives

Dr. Harvey Washington Banks

In 1961, Dr. Harvey Washington Banks was the first Black American to graduate with a doctorate in astronomy. His research was on spectroscopy, the study of how light and matter interact, and his research helped advance our knowledge of the field. Roman will use spectroscopy to explore how dark energy is speeding up the universe's expansion.

A Black woman stands with her back to the camera and is looking over her shoulder. She is wearing a dark blue jacket that has a white circle outlined image of a plane and the word NASA underneath. She is standing in front of a giant metal circular ring. It sits inside of a large black square box. Credit: NASA/Sydney Rohde

NOTE - Sensitive technical details have been digitally obscured in this photograph.

Sheri Thorn

Aerospace engineer Sheri Thorn is ensuring Roman’s primary mirror will be protected from the Sun so we can capture the best images of deep space. Thorn works on the Deployable Aperture Cover, a large, soft shade known as a space blanket. It will be mounted to the top of the telescope in the stowed position and then deployed after launch. Thorn helped in the design phase and is now working on building the flight hardware before it goes to environmental testing and is integrated to the spacecraft.

A smiling Black woman with shoulder-length straight black hair, glasses, and a white lab coat sits at a blue desk, holding a green circuit board in each hand. She is in a laboratory, and shelves with computer monitors and wires sit behind and around her. A sheet of shiny silver metal stands behind her head, and bags of wires and parts are visible on the desk beside her. Credit: NASA/Katy Comber

Sanetra Bailey

Roman will be orbiting a million miles away at the second Lagrange point, or L2. Staying updated on the telescope's status and health will be an integral part of keeping the mission running. Electronics engineer Sanetra Bailey is the person who is making sure that will happen. Bailey works on circuits that will act like the brains of the spacecraft, telling it how and where to move and relaying information about its status back down to Earth.

Learn more about Sanetra Bailey and her journey to NASA.

A Black man in a clean room wearing a clean suit covering his whole body except his eyes, wearing blue gloves, and holding up a flight detector. Credit: NASA/ Chris Gunn

Dr. Gregory Mosby

Roman’s field of view will be at least 100 times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope's, even though the primary mirrors are the same size. What gives Roman the larger field of view are its 18 detectors. Dr. Gregory Mosby is one of the detector scientists on the Roman mission who helped select the flight detectors that will be our “eyes” to the universe.

Dr. Beth Brown, Dr. Harvey Washington Banks, Sheri Thorn, Sanetra Bailey, and Dr. Greg Mosby are just some of the many Black scientists and engineers in astrophysics who have and continue to pave the way for others in the field. The Roman Space Telescope team promises to continue to highlight those who came before us and those who are here now to truly appreciate the amazing science to come.

A simulated space image with the Roman Space Telescope at the center. It heads toward a purple-and-pink galaxy, and you can see down the barrel opening of the spacecraft. Credit: NASA

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