NASA announced on July 31, 2026, that its Roman Telescope will carry 1.35 million names into deep space. The agency confirmed the name total in a public release issued at 14:11 UTC. NASA did not specify the precise technical method or material medium it will use to store, encode, or affix the 1.35 million names onto the spacecraft.
The total count of 1.35 million names represents the entire set included in the agency's published update. NASA did not provide a demographic or geographic breakdown detailing where the submitted names originated. The agency also gave no details regarding the verification process used to vet or screen the submitted entries before final selection.
In terms of mission integration, NASA did not publish a schedule detailing when the name payload will be installed onto the Roman Telescope hardware. The release contains no statement on whether the physical storage mechanism will sit on the exterior casing or within an internal component of the telescope. NASA did not disclose the physical dimensions or weight of the storage hardware carrying the names.
Financial parameters and broader project expenditure figures were not included in the announcement. NASA did not state the total budget allocated for processing and mounting the name collection. The agency gave no indication of whether a secondary or duplicate record of the 1.35 million names will remain in an archive on Earth.
NASA gave no indication of whether additional submissions will be accepted in the future or if the list of 1.35 million names is permanently closed. The agency also did not publish specific orbital parameters or mission duration targets alongside the name count announcement.
