NASA's new Roman telescope makes TIME's best inventions — before its first pictures

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which lifted off on 30 August, is on its million-mile journey to its observing post, where its wide, sharp infrared view will survey vast stretches of sky and hunt for worlds around other stars. TIME has named Roman one of its Best Inventions of 2026. Engineers are now calibrating its instruments, and NASA expects to release its first images in early 2027.

SDG 9 · Industry, innovation and infrastructure — Mechanism: tech innovation