IMAP will study the protective magnetic bubble that surrounds our solar system, called the The bubble-like region surrounding the solar system inflated by the solar wind, shielding the solar system from interstellar radiation..
Image Credit: NASA/Princeton/Johns Hopkins APL/Josh Diaz
The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) has successfully completed Key Decision Point D (KDP-D). This milestone allows the mission to move from development and design to the assembly, testing, and integration phase. IMAP’s planned launch date, which was no earlier than February 2025, was also reevaluated during the KDP-D and was moved to a target launch window from late April to late May 2025 to ensure that the project team has adequate resources to address risks and technical complexities during system integration and testing.
IMAP will function as a modern-day cartographer and will help us understand what happens when the A stream of charged particles, mostly protons and electrons, that escapes into the Sun's outer atmosphere at high speeds and streams out into the solar system in all directions. (a constant stream of particles from the Sun) collides with materials from interstellar space. This will help researchers map the boundary of the The bubble-like region surrounding the solar system inflated by the solar wind, shielding the solar system from interstellar radiation., the magnetic bubble created by the solar wind, and better understand how this magnetic bubble protects Earth from large amounts of harmful cosmic Usually refers to electromagnetic waves, such as light, radio, infrared, X-rays, ultraviolet; also sometimes used to refer to atomic particles of high energy, such as electrons (beta-radiation), helium nuclei (alpha-radiation), and so on.. IMAP will be positioned about one million miles from Earth, and its instruments will collect and study the particles that make it through the heliosphere.
Learn more on the NASA website.