Plans for Studying Dark Energy | NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

Plans for Studying Dark Energy | NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

Scientists have discovered that a mysterious pressure dubbed “dark energy” makes up about 68% of the total energy content of the cosmos. 

Exploring the nature of dark energy is one of the primary reasons NASA built the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Its measurements will help illuminate the dark energy puzzle. 

What exactly is dark energy? 

More is unknown than known, but theorists are chasing down a couple of possible explanations. Discovering how dark energy has affected the universe’s expansion in the past will shed some light on how it will influence the expansion in the future. One theory suggests dark energy would eventually become dominant over the fundamental forces, causing everything that is currently bound together—galaxies, planets, people—to break apart. 

Exploring dark energy will allow us to investigate, and possibly even foresee, the universe’s fate.

The Roman telescope and the discoveries it will support:
https://www.stsci.edu/roman

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/roman-space-telescope/

Dr. Nancy Grace Roman: 
https://science.nasa.gov/people/nancy-roman/

Download the free Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope poster here: 

Print high resolution PDF (144.47 MB) 
https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/missions/rst/science/ROMAN-poster-24x36-2026.pdf

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https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/missions/rst/science/ROMAN-poster2026.png

Smaller image for web view PNG (3.75 MB)
https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/missions/rst/science/ROMAN-poster2026-web.png

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Producer: Scott Wiessinger (eMITS)
Animator: Krystofer Kim (eMITS)
Narrator: Sophia Roberts (eMITS)
Editor: Scott Wiessinger (eMITS)
Sound effects editor: Sophia Roberts (eMITS)
Science writer: Ashley Balzer (eMITS)
Science writer: Francis Reddy (University of Maryland College Park)
Duration: 4 minutes
Release Date: Aug. 19, 2026

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