NASA will launch a mission to study the edge of the heliosphere in September

Dec. 27 () –

NASA plans to launch a mission to study the limits of the heliosphere in September 2025, the plasma space of the Sun that surrounds the planets of the solar system.

The objective of the IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) space probe will be to study the interaction of the solar wind with the ancient winds discarded from other stars, and the fundamental process of acceleration of particles in space.

IMAP too will examine the fundamental processes that accelerate particles throughout the heliosphere and beyond; The resulting energetic particles and cosmic rays can harm astronauts and space technologies.

By studying the nature of the interaction of solar and stellar winds, IMAP will join a fleet of NASA heliophysics missions seeking to understand how the Sun affects the space environment near Earth and throughout the solar system.

The launch was initially planned for 2024. The new date provides additional time for flight systems preparations IMAP before launch, according to NASA.

To achieve its goals, IMAP will sample, analyze and map particles flowing toward Earth from the edges of interstellar space. The mission will also help researchers learn more about the solar wind (the constant flow of particles from the Sun), energetic particles and cosmic rays in the heliosphere. These particles can affect human explorers in space, damage technological systems, and likely play a role in the presence of life itself in the universe.

In addition to IMAP, two other spacecraft will be launched as rideshare missions:

– NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory will capture light from Earth’s geocoronathe part of the outer atmosphere that emits ultraviolet light. Studying this will allow researchers to better understand the atmosphere and improve our ability to predict how solar activity may affect Earth.

– The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On – Lagrange 1 mission will observe the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or coronaand will measure the constant flow of particles from the Sun called the solar wind before it reaches Earth, to monitor the conditions that create space weather.

During his missions, the three spacecraft will orbit at Lagrange point 1which is one of five areas where the Earth’s gravity balances the Sun’s gravity. Spacecraft orbiting a Lagrangian point need less fuel to stay in that position. Lagrange 1, which is about a million miles from Earth toward the Sun, is an excellent place to observe the Sun and provide early warnings about space weather conditions heading toward Earth, according to NASA.

The IMAP spacecraft and the two shared missions will launch together on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.