Dr. Nancy Grace Roman was a pioneer. At a time when few women studied astronomy, let alone climbed the upper rungs of the national space agency, Roman became NASA’s first chief of astronomy. Today, she is remembered as the “Mother of Hubble.”
Now, almost seventy years after accepting the role, her achievements are being celebrated with the launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope — a mission that promises to enhance our understanding of the universe and answer questions about dark matter and exoplanets.
So, how exactly did Roman defy gender expectations to become one of astronomy’s most influential figures?
An Early Interest in Constellations
Roman was born on May 16, 1925, in Nashville, Tennessee. Her father was a geophysicist, her mother was a music teacher, and as a result of her dad’s work, she moved around the country constantly.
In NASA interviews, she recalls being amazed by the constellations and the northern lights, which her mom had introduced her to when she was young. Inspired, she started an astronomy club for her friends, gathering information from books. By seventh grade, Roman had set her sights on a career in space science.
It wasn’t plain sailing, and her ambitions were often met with disbelief. She remembers a guidance counselor who was flabbergasted that she — a girl — would choose to study mathematics over Latin. There was also a college professor whose idea of praise was to say she might actually succeed as a woman in physics.
Explore All OptionsDespite the obstacles, Roman persevered, earning a bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago before securing a research position. Her research on Ursa Major at UChicago helped raise her profile in the field. But she decided to leave after realizing that, even with extensive experience, no woman had received tenure at the university.
It was at that point she accepted a role with the government at the Naval Research Laboratory as an astronomer in the new field of radio astronomy.
Roman’s Time at NASA
In the 1950s, NASA was in its nascency. Shortly after the space agency was established in 1958, Roman was asked to recommend someone who could design a space-based astronomy program. She has said that the challenge of starting something anew and the possibility of influencing astronomy for decades to come were highly appealing, so she put herself forward.
In a sign of the times, Roman had been so underpaid in earlier roles that it was not accepted as employment. This meant she was initially taken on as a Ph.D. graduate. However, it was not long before she was promoted and became NASA’s first chief of astronomy in 1959.
The role involved planning a program of satellites and rockets, as well as administering a grants program supporting the astronomical community. In later interviews, she said that although the agency and the community as a whole were male-dominated, she felt accepted and treated as part of the team.
One of her crowning accomplishments in her role as chief of astronomy was her involvement with the Hubble spacecraft.
Read More: JWST Revealed the Early Universe — The Roman Space Telescope Will Help Us Understand How It Evolved
The Mother of Hubble
Roman described her role in Hubble as selling the program. She had not initially been convinced, thinking it was too premature to send a large telescope into space, but decided to get involved after it became clear there was strong impetus in the aerospace community, believing that if it was to be done, it should be done properly.
Roman was instrumental in helping NASA secure congressional funding and approval for the Hubble Space Telescope (then known as the Large Space Telescope). From organizing committees to lobbying decision-makers, she was instrumental in getting Hubble off the ground — though she had retired from her role by the time of its actual launch.
Roman’s Later Life
Roman left NASA in 1979 in order to look after her mother, but did not leave the profession entirely. She continued working as a consultant and later joined the Goddard Space Flight Center’s Astronomical Data Center, where she worked between 1981 and 1997.
In later life, she took on a teaching role and recorded audio textbooks for the visually impaired before her death at age 93.
Her legacy continues to live on as the “Mother of Hubble,” NASA’s first Chief of Astronomy, and now as the eponym of NASA’s latest mission.
Read More: NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope's ‘Spy Mirror’ Could Transform How We Map the Universe
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
- This article references information from NASA: Roman Series: NASA's New View of the Dark Universe
- This article references information from NASA: NASA's First Chief Astronomer, the Mother of Hubble
- This article references information from NASA: Dr. Nancy Grace Roman (1925-2018)
- This article references information from NASA: Who is Nancy Grace Roman?
