When the solar windA 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. meets the ISMThe interstellar medium is the matter that exists in the space between the stars within a galaxy. This matter includes ionized and electrically neutral gas (primarily hydrogen and helium), dust, and cosmic rays. The ISM plays a crucial role in the lifecycle of stars and galaxies. It is the reservoir from which new stars are born and into which old stars expel material when they die. at the heliospheric boundary, some of the charged particles in the solar wind turn into particles called energetic neutral atomsAtoms with no charge that move very quickly. These atoms have equal numbers of positively-charged protons and negatively-charged electrons. ENAs form when charged particles from the solar wind travel outward and encounter atoms from the interstellar medium. Because the ENAs are neutral, they do not react to any magnetic fields. Some of these ENAs travel toward the inner solar system and are captured by the IMAP spacecraft. (ENAsEnergetic Neutral Atoms are atoms with no charge that move very quickly. These atoms have equal numbers of positively-charged protons and negatively-charged electrons. ENAs form when charged particles from the solar wind travel outward and encounter atoms from the interstellar medium. Because the ENAs are neutral, they do not react to any magnetic fields. Some of these ENAs travel toward the inner solar system and are captured by the IMAP spacecraft.). Because they carry no electrical charge and are electrically neutral, ENAs are not influenced by magnetic fields and travel in straight lines in all directions through our solar neighborhood. Some of these tiny particles of matter travel back towards the Sun at high speeds from the boundary. The IMAP-Lo, IMAP-Hi, and IMAP-Ultra instruments collect, count, measure, and map these ENAs. These maps provide high-resolution details of the concentrations of ENAs that are formed at the boundary, in multiple energy bands ranging from 0.1 keV to 300 keV. IMAP-Lo also directly measures neutral atoms from local interstellar mediumThe interstellar material surrounding our solar system found directly outside of the heliosphere. that flow through the heliosphereThe bubble-like region surrounding the solar system inflated by the solar wind, shielding the solar system from interstellar radiation. unimpeded by the solar wind.

IMAP also provides near real-timeA measure of the flow of events. observations of the solar wind and its energetic particlesCharged particles (electrons, protons, and other ions) that are moving very fast (high energy). If the particles originate at the Sun, they are known as solar energetic particles (SEPs). from L1Lagrange Point 1 is an orbital path  in space about one million miles from Earth towards the Sun that is without any magnetic interference from the planets., which is about one million miles from Earth towards the Sun. IMAP employs four instruments that work together to provide a comprehensive understanding of the solar wind and its components. These instruments include Solar Wind Electrons (SWE) for measuring solar wind electrons, Solar Wind and Pickup Ions (SWAPI) for detecting ions originating outside our solar system, Compact Dual Ion Composition Experiment (CoDICE) for analyzing suprathermal ions, and High-Energy Ion Telescope (HIT) for studying high-energy ions. IMAP's solar wind instruments at L1 can provide astronauts and spacecraft near Earth with close to half an hour's warning of incoming harmful radiationUsually 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..

In addition to measuring tiny particles, IMAP’s IDEX instrument makes direct measurements of cosmic dust. These conglomerations of particles are about the same size as a grain of sand and originate from outside our solar system. The composition of this interstellar space dust acts like a fingerprint, indicating where it originates in the galaxyA huge collection of millions to trillions of stars and their planetary systems held together by gravity, and the gas, plasma, and dust that are also gravitationally held to the galaxy. The galaxy our solar system is found in is called the Milky Way.. This gives us a glimpse of the compositions of stars far beyond our solar system. By studying this dust, scientists can significantly advance our knowledge about these basic celestial building materials and learn more about the material that exists between stars.

The GLOWS instrument observes the solar wind’s evolving structure by looking at specific wavelengths of ultravioletThe part of the electromagnetic spectrum whose radiation has somewhat smaller wavelengths than optical radiation but longer wavelengths than X-rays. Because ultraviolet light is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere, ultraviolet astronomy is performed in space. radiation where hydrogen ions from the ISMThe interstellar medium is the matter that exists in the space between the stars within a galaxy. This matter includes ionized and electrically neutral gas (primarily hydrogen and helium), dust, and cosmic rays. The ISM plays a crucial role in the lifecycle of stars and galaxies. It is the reservoir from which new stars are born and into which old stars expel material when they die. interact with solar photons.

Magnetic fields found in our solar neighborhood control how charged particles in the solar wind travel across the solar system. They are also central to the processes that accelerate these particles, such as shocks and turbulence. The MAG instrument is a dual-sensor magnetometerA device used to measure the intensity and direction of the local magnetic field. whose measurements contribute to our understanding of the acceleration and transport of these charged particles in the heliosphereThe bubble-like region surrounding the solar system inflated by the solar wind, shielding the solar system from interstellar radiation..

In depth, high-level information about the mission, its scientific goals, and the cutting-edge scientific instruments built to accomplish these goals from 2018 can be found in the Open Access IMAP Paper.