Interstellar Mapping and Accelreration Probe (IMAP)

The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe, or IMAP, will explore and map the very boundaries of our heliosphere — a huge bubble created by the Sun's wind that encapsulates our entire solar system — and study how the heliosphere interacts with the local galactic neighborhood beyond.

As a modern-day celestial cartographer, IMAP will also explore and chart the vast range of particles in interplanetary space, helping to investigate two of the most important overarching issues in heliophysics — the energization of charged particles from the Sun, and the interaction of the solar wind at its boundary with interstellar space. Additionally, IMAP will support real-time observations of the solar wind and energetic particles, which can produce hazardous conditions in the space environment near Earth.

What is IMAP?
The IMAP mission will use 10 scientific instruments to chart a comprehensive picture of what’s roiling in space, from high-energy particles originating at the Sun, to magnetic fields in interplanetary space, to remnants of exploded stars in interstellar space.

Pushing Boundaries

The mission will primarily investigate two of the most important overarching issues in heliophysics. Namely, how charged particles from the Sun are energized to form what’s known as the solar wind and how that wind interacts with interstellar space at the heliosphere’s boundary.

This boundary offers protection from the harsher radiation from the rest of the galaxy. It is key to creating and maintaining a habitable solar system. The physics of the boundary and how it changes over time helps explain why our solar system can support life as we know it.

Keeping an Eye on Space Weather

The IMAP mission will additionally support real-time observations of the solar wind, which can flood the near-Earth space environment with dangerous particles and radiation that could harm technology and astronauts in space and disrupt global communications and electrical grids on Earth. The IMAP spacecraft is situated at the first Earth-Sun Lagrange point (L1), at around one million miles from Earth toward the Sun. There, it can provide about a half hour's warning to voyaging astronauts and spacecraft near Earth of harmful radiation coming their way.

Together, these areas of research will:

Uncover fundamental physics at scales both tiny and immense.
Improve forecasting of solar wind disturbances and particle radiation hazards from space.
Draw a picture of our nearby galactic neighborhood.
Help determine some of the basic cosmic building materials of the universe.
Increase understanding of how the heliosphere shields life in the solar system from cosmic rays.