A Star in the Sky and a Light in Our History: Celebrating NASA’s Dr. Nancy Grace Roman
On Sunday, August 30, NASA successfully launched its next-generation flagship observatory, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, into orbit. While the world celebrates the “Mother of Hubble” for her monumental role in creating NASA’s space astronomy program, we also celebrate her deep roots in our faith.
Dr. Roman was a lifelong, devoted Unitarian Universalist and an active member of the River Road UU Congregation in Maryland. Growing up in a tradition that encouraged free thought and questioned dogma, she explicitly credited her UU upbringing with giving her the independent mindset and courage needed to fight tradition, break barriers, and become NASA’s first Chief of Astronomy and its first female executive. As we look up at the stars, we celebrate a pioneer who proved that a faith grounded in reason, curiosity, and individual conscience can truly change the universe.