IMAP Beauty Passes

Released Thursday, August 14, 2025

ID: 20410

NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) will explore and map the very boundaries of our heliosphere — a huge bubble created by the Sun's wind that encapsulates our entire solar system — and study how the heliosphere interacts with the local galactic neighborhood beyond.

As a modern-day celestial cartographer, IMAP will also explore and chart the vast range of particles in interplanetary space, helping to investigate two of the most important overarching issues in heliophysics — the energization of charged particles from the Sun, and the interaction of the solar wind at its boundary with interstellar space. Additionally, IMAP will support real-time observations of the solar wind and energetic particles, which can produce hazardous conditions in the space environment near Earth.

The IMAP spacecraft will be located at Lagrange Point 1, or L1. Lagrange points are positions in space where objects sent there tend to stay put. At L1, which is around 1 million miles from Earth towards the Sun, the gravitational pull of the Sun and Earth are balanced, allowing spacecraft to reduce fuel consumption needed to remain in position. At L1, IMAP will have a clear view of the heliosphere and will also be positioned to provide advanced warning of incoming solar storms headed to Earth.

Learn more about IMAP.

Below are conceptual animations highlighting the IMAP spacecraft.

Conceptual Animation

The IMAP spacecraft, located at Lagrange Point 1, spins at four revolutions per minute as it surveys the heliosphere.

Credit: NASA/Princeton/Patrick McPike

Conceptual Animation With Logo

The IMAP spacecraft, located at Lagrange Point 1, spins at four revolutions per minute as it surveys the heliosphere.

Credit: NASA/Princeton/Patrick McPike

Conceptual Animation

The IMAP spacecraft is situated at the first Earth-Sun Lagrange point (L1), at around one million miles from Earth toward the Sun. There, it can study the heliosphere by measuring particles returning from that boundary and it can also provide about a half hour's warning to voyaging astronauts and spacecraft near Earth of harmful radiation coming their way.

Credit: NASA/Adriana Manrique

Conceptual Animation

The IMAP mission will use 10 scientific instruments to chart a comprehensive picture of what’s roiling in space, from high-energy particles originating at the Sun, to magnetic fields in interplanetary space, to remnants of exploded stars in interstellar space.

Credit: NASA/Adriana Manrique

Conceptual Animation

The IMAP spacecraft is situated at the first Earth-Sun Lagrange point (L1), at around one million miles from Earth toward the Sun. There, it will collect and measure particles that have traveled from the Sun, the heliosphere’s boundary 6 to 9 billion miles away, and interstellar space.

Credit: NASA/Adriana Manrique/Jonathan North