{"id":2102,"date":"2025-12-26T13:52:28","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T10:52:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/?p=2102"},"modified":"2026-02-24T18:49:59","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T15:49:59","slug":"the-imap-mission-defines-the-boundaries-of-the-heliosphere-and-provides-space-weather-measurements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/2025\/12\/26\/the-imap-mission-defines-the-boundaries-of-the-heliosphere-and-provides-space-weather-measurements\/","title":{"rendered":"The IMAP mission defines the boundaries of the heliosphere and provides space weather measurements"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span dir=\"auto\">NASA&#8217;s new Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Mission (IMAP) was launched on September 23, 2025. Its goal is to study the heliosphere\u2014the giant shield created by the Sun. The mission will determine the boundaries of the heliosphere to help us better understand the protection it provides for life on Earth and how it changes with solar activity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><!--more--><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span dir=\"auto\">The IMAP mission will also provide near-real-time measurements of the solar wind, data that can be used to improve models for predicting space weather impacts, from power line failures to satellite loss and the health of astronauts during space travel.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span dir=\"auto\">Space is a dangerous place, one that NASA continues to explore for the benefit of all. It&#8217;s full of radiation and high-energy particles capable of damaging DNA and circuit boards. However, life in our solar system is preserved in part thanks to the heliosphere\u2014a giant bubble created by the Sun that extends far beyond the orbit of Neptune.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span dir=\"auto\">With the launch of NASA&#8217;s new Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Mission (IMAP) on September 23, humanity will gain a more detailed understanding of the heliosphere than ever before. The mission will determine the heliosphere&#8217;s boundaries to better understand its protection and how it changes with solar activity. IMAP will also provide near-real-time space weather measurements essential for the Artemis program and deep space travel.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"712\" height=\"401\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gEOraINOI5c\" title=\"Mapping the Boundaries of Our Home in Space with NASA\u2019s IMAP Mission\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><span dir=\"auto\">NASA Scientific Visualization Studio.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span dir=\"auto\">&#8220;With IMAP, we&#8217;ll expand our knowledge and understanding of our place not only in the solar system but in the galaxy as a whole,&#8221; said Patrick Koehn, IMAP program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. &#8220;As humanity expands its reach and explores beyond Earth, missions like IMAP will add new pieces to the space weather puzzle, filling the space between Parker Solar Probe near the Sun and the Voyagers beyond the heliopause.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span dir=\"auto\">The heliosphere is formed by the constant outflow of matter and magnetic fields from the Sun, known as the solar wind. As the Solar System moves through the Milky Way, the interaction of the solar wind with interstellar matter shapes the heliosphere. Studying the heliosphere helps scientists understand our home in space and how it became habitable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span dir=\"auto\">As a modern celestial cartographer, IMAP maps the boundary of our heliosphere and studies its interactions with the nearby galactic environment. It will map a wide range of particles, dust, ultraviolet light, and magnetic fields in interplanetary space to investigate the energization of charged particles emitted by the Sun and their interactions with interstellar space.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span dir=\"auto\">The IMAP mission builds on NASA&#8217;s Voyager and IBEX (Interstellar Boundary Explorer) projects. In 2012 and 2018, the two Voyager spacecraft became the first artificial objects to cross the boundary of the heliosphere and return measurements from interstellar space. This gave scientists an idea of \u200b\u200bwhat the boundary looked like and where it was located at two specific locations. IBEX&#8217;s mapping of the heliosphere left many unanswered questions. With 30 times higher resolution and faster imaging, IMAP will help fill in the blanks about the heliosphere.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong><span dir=\"auto\">Of IMAP&#8217;s 10 instruments, three will explore the edge of the heliosphere, collecting energetic neutral atoms (ENA). Many ENA originate from positively charged particles emitted by the Sun, but after passing through the Solar System, they collide with particles in interstellar space. This collision causes some of these positively charged particles to become neutral, creating an energetic neutral atom. This interaction also redirects new ENA, with some ricocheting back toward the Sun.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span dir=\"auto\">Charged particles are forced to follow magnetic field lines, but atomic ionospheric tethers (ENAs) travel in straight lines, unaffected by the twists, turns, and turbulence of the magnetic fields that permeate space and form the boundary of the heliosphere. This allows scientists to trace the origin of these atomic ionospheric &#8220;messengers&#8221; and study distant regions of space from afar. The IMAP mission will use ENAs collected near Earth to trace their origin and map the boundaries of the heliosphere, which would otherwise be invisible from such a distance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3991\" src=\"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/imap041225.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/imap041225.jpg 768w, https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/imap041225-300x221.jpg 300w\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"565\" \/><br \/>\n<em><span dir=\"auto\">The IMAP mission will study the heliosphere\u2014our home in space. NASA\/Princeton University\/Patrick McPike<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span dir=\"auto\">&#8220;With its comprehensive, state-of-the-art instrument suite, IMAP will improve our understanding of two fundamental questions: how particles are energized and transported throughout the heliosphere, and how the heliosphere itself interacts with our galaxy,&#8221; said Sri Kanekal, IMAP mission scientist at NASA&#8217;s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span dir=\"auto\">The IMAP mission will also provide near-real-time observations of the solar wind and energetic solar particles, which can create hazardous conditions in near-Earth space. Located at Lagrange Point 1, approximately 1 million miles from Earth toward the Sun, IMAP will provide approximately half an hour&#8217;s warning of hazardous particles heading toward our planet. Mission data will help develop models capable of predicting space weather impacts, from power outages to satellite loss.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span dir=\"auto\">&#8220;The IMAP mission will provide critical information for deep space travel, where astronauts will be directly exposed to the solar wind,&#8221; said David McComas, IMAP principal investigator at Princeton University.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong><span dir=\"auto\">In addition to measuring entropy-rich cosmic rays and solar wind particles, IMAP will also conduct direct measurements of interstellar dust\u2014clusters of particles smaller than a grain of sand that originate outside the solar system. This cosmic dust primarily consists of rocky or carbon-rich particles left behind by supernova explosions.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span dir=\"auto\">The specific elemental composition of this cosmic dust is a kind of postage stamp indicating its origin in the galaxy. Studying cosmic dust could shed light on the composition of stars far beyond our Solar System. It will also help scientists significantly expand our understanding of these fundamental building blocks of the cosmos and gain insight into the composition of matter between stars.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span dir=\"auto\">David McComas leads the mission, working with an international team of 27 partner organizations. The Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is managing the spacecraft&#8217;s development and production phase and will provide mission management. IMAP is the fifth mission in NASA&#8217;s Solar Terrestrial Probes program portfolio. The Research and Heliophysics Projects Office at NASA Goddard manages the STP program for the Heliophysics Division of NASA&#8217;s Science Mission Directorate. NASA&#8217;s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, manages the mission&#8217;s launch.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong><span dir=\"auto\">How did the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) launch?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><span dir=\"auto\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">\u00a0<\/span>On September 18, crews delivered NASA&#8217;s newest space weather observatory and two ride-sharing vehicles from the Astrotech Space Operations Payload Processing Facility in Titusville to a SpaceX hangar at the nearby Launch Complex 39A at NASA&#8217;s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the missions no earlier than 7:32 a.m. ET on Tuesday, September 23, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA&#8217;s Kennedy Space Center.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span dir=\"auto\">Over the past few days, technicians have completed a number of critical operations to prepare the spacecraft for this mission. First, they mated the two IMAP satellites\u2014the Carruthers Geocoronal Observatory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration&#8217;s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On \u2013 Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) satellite\u2014with the Evolved secondary payload adapter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span dir=\"auto\">The team then attached the ring with the ride-sharing modules attached to it to the payload attachment node, which will connect all three observatories to the rocket&#8217;s second stage. Afterward, the specialists secured the IMAP observatory to the payload adapter. Finally, they mated the payload adapter to the ring, completing the integration of all three spacecraft into a single launch unit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3992\" src=\"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/imap0412251.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 533px) 100vw, 533px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/imap0412251.jpg 533w, https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/imap0412251-200x300.jpg 200w\" alt=\"\" width=\"533\" height=\"800\" \/><br \/>\n<em><span dir=\"auto\">Technicians at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida install NASA&#8217;s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP), the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration&#8217;s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On\u2013Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) spacecraft inside the payload fairing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. NASA\/Kim Shiflett<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span dir=\"auto\">On September 16, Astrotech specialists placed the payload into the rocket&#8217;s fairing. The fairing protects the spacecraft from aerodynamic forces and heat during ascent. Approximately three minutes after liftoff, the fairing halves will separate from the rocket and return to Earth, where SpaceX plans to retrieve them.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span dir=\"auto\">After verifying the observatories were in good working order and condition, the team carefully transported the encapsulated structure. It took several hours to deliver the fragile equipment to the SpaceX hangar, where the team would install the encapsulated spacecraft on the rocket.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span dir=\"auto\">The IMAP mission was confirmed during a flight readiness review conducted by the agency on Thursday. Mission managers from NASA, SpaceX, and the IMAP spacecraft conducted the review at NASA Kennedy Space Center to provide an update on the mission&#8217;s status and confirm its readiness for final launch preparations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span dir=\"auto\">After launch, all three spacecraft will orbit the Sun near Lagrange Point 1, approximately one million miles from Earth. From this point, IMAP will map the boundaries of the heliosphere\u2014the protective bubble formed by the solar wind in interstellar space. The IMAP mission aims to study the forces that control the heliosphere&#8217;s shape and to investigate how solar particles are accelerated to extremely high energies. IMAP will also provide near-real-time observations of the solar wind and energetic particles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong><span dir=\"auto\">Data collected by the IMAP mission will be used to develop the IMAP Active Link in Real-Time (I-ALiRT) system. This system is designed to improve the understanding of space weather and enhance next-generation space weather forecasting tools.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span dir=\"auto\">The improvements and enhancements made possible by I-ALiRT will provide more accurate information to astronauts participating in missions to the Moon and Mars, including the Artemis program. It will also improve the performance of ground-based technologies vulnerable to space weather events, such as coronal mass ejections. This data complements the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration&#8217;s (NOAA) SWFO-L1 system, which provides important alerts and warnings to stakeholders. This represents a significant step toward improving space weather forecasting and protecting our infrastructure as NASA continues to explore space.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3993\" src=\"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/imap0412252.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/imap0412252.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/imap0412252-300x251.jpg 300w, https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/imap0412252-768x641.jpg 768w\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"835\" \/><br \/>\n<em><span dir=\"auto\">Workers transport NASA&#8217;s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) spacecraft, along with the Carruthers Geocoronavirus Observatory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration&#8217;s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On\u2013Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) satellite, late Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, through Thursday morning, Sept. 18, 2025, from the Astrotech Space Operations Facility in Titusville, Florida, to the SpaceX hangar at Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA\/Kim Shiflett<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span dir=\"auto\">Carruthers will study Earth&#8217;s exosphere, the outermost layer of the atmosphere. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) SWFO-L1 satellite will monitor space weather, helping protect critical infrastructure, the economy, and national security.<\/span><\/p>\n<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/go\/16\"  class=\"su-button su-button-style-flat su-button-wide\" style=\"color:#FFFFFF;background-color:#af170f;border-color:#8c130c;border-radius:5px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"color:#FFFFFF;padding:7px 22px;font-size:17px;line-height:26px;border-color:#c75d57;border-radius:5px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px;text-shadow:none;-moz-text-shadow:none;-webkit-text-shadow:none\"><i class=\"sui sui-heart\" style=\"font-size:17px;color:#FFFFFF\"><\/i> Comment on Facebook* The owner of the Meta company is recognized as extremist in Russia and is banned.<\/span><\/a>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NASA&#8217;s new Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Mission (IMAP) was launched on September 23, 2025. Its goal is to study the heliosphere\u2014the giant shield created by the Sun. The mission will determine the boundaries of the heliosphere to help us better understand the protection it provides for life on Earth and how it changes with solar activity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2103,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[543,40],"tags":[754,969],"class_list":{"0":"post-2102","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-solar-system","8":"category-kosmos","9":"tag-heliosphere","10":"tag-imap"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2102"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2214,"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2102\/revisions\/2214"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planeta21vek.ru\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}