Instruments

IMAP Instrument Suite

Five of IMAP’s 10 instruments with a dark blue text ribbon beneath them describing the space material they collect and measure. From the left, the three energetic neutral atom imagers – IMAP-Lo, IMAP-Hi and IMAP-Ultra. Fourth is the MAG instrument and boom arm. The last instrument is the SWE instrument.

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. meets the ISM at the heliospheric boundary, some of the charged particles in the solar wind turn into particles called energetic neutral atoms (ENAs). 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. The IMAP-Lo instrument collects, counts, categorizes, and maps interstellar neutral atoms (ISN) and energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) of energies less than 40 kiloelectron volts (keV). IMAP-Lo is mounted on a pivot platform that allows it to adjust its field-of-view to capture data across almost the entire sky, and to measure interstellar neutral atoms throughout most of the year. also directly measures neutral atoms from local interstellar medium that flow through the The bubble-like region surrounding the solar system inflated by the solar wind, shielding the solar system from interstellar radiation. unimpeded by the solar wind.

Five more of IMAP’s 10 instruments with a dark blue text ribbon beneath them describing the space material they collect and measure. From the left, the three energetic electron collectors – SWAPI, CoDICE, and HIT.  Fourth is the IDEX instrument The last instrument is the GLOWS instrument.

IMAP also provides near real-A measure of the flow of events. observations of 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. and its Charged particles (electrons, protons, and ions) that are moving very fast (high energy). If the particles originate at the Sun, they are known as Solar Energetic particles (SEPs). from L1. 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, Coherent Doppler-Interferometer for Composition and Dynamics 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 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..

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 The specific components or “ingredients” that make up a substance or type of matter. of this interstellar space dust acts like a fingerprint, indicating where it originates in the A 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 radiation where hydrogen ions from the ISM 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 A 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 The bubble-like region surrounding the solar system inflated by the solar wind, shielding the solar system from interstellar radiation..

Open Access IMAP Paper

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.