12 Incredible Space Missions Set to Unravel Universe's Biggest Mysteries

10. Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope: The Exoplanet & Dark Energy Hunter

How many distant planets are out there, and how do stars and galaxies take shape over cosmic time? The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, NASA’s upcoming powerhouse observatory, aims to tackle those two huge questions. Slated for launch by the late 2020s, this wide-field telescope will scan immense swaths of sky, hunting for supernovae, mapping dark energy, and cataloging a menagerie of exoplanets. With a field of view 100 times larger than Hubble’s, Roman will make sweeping surveys that could rewrite our understanding of the cosmos’ expansion and the diversity of alien worlds. The anticipation is sky-high—because what Roman finds may shift not just how we see the universe, but our place within it.