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A Universe of Possibility: Dalia Kirschbaum on NASA’s Roman Telescope
NASA just launched the next great space telescope that will revolutionize astronomy and rewrite the science books. During Her Cosmic Orbit’s Roman launch coverage, we spoke with Dr. Dalia Kirschbaum, acting director of the Sciences and Exploration Directorate at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
Space exploration often begins long before a rocket reaches the launch pad. It begins with someone willing to ask a question that sounds impossible.
For Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, one of those questions was: What if we could place powerful telescopes above Earth’s atmosphere and open an entirely new view of the universe? Decades later, the observatory bearing her name has left Earth and begun its journey toward L2 where it will turn ideas that once felt impossible into the foundation for a new era of discovery.
In the hours leading up to launch, Her Cosmic Orbit spoke with Dr. Dalia Kirschbaum, acting director of the Sciences and Exploration Directorate at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. For Kirschbaum, Roman’s greatest promise is not limited to the questions it was designed to answer. It is also the telescope’s ability to uncover “questions about our universe that we didn’t even know to ask.”
Our conversation explores the curiosity that connects all of us to the night sky: Are we alone? Are we unique? And what might we discover when Roman begins observing billions of galaxies, stars, supernovae, and distant worlds?
Kirschbaum also explains how Roman’s openly available data could give students, teachers, and researchers around the world a new way to participate in discovery. She reflects on her own journey from student and intern to leading multiple NASA science divisions and reminds us that missions like Roman depend on far more than scientists and engineers. From the people who sew thermal blankets to the teams who maintain pristine clean rooms, there are many ways to belong in space exploration.
Roman’s story is about what we may discover, but it is also about who gets to participate in that discovery. Watch our full conversation with Dr. Dalia Kirschbaum below.
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