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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. || ", "release_date": "2025-08-14T00:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2025-09-17T16:58:27.554849-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 1158444, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a020000/a020400/a020410/20410_IMAP_5k_Spin_NoLogo_2-002.00001_print.jpg", "filename": "20410_IMAP_5k_Spin_NoLogo_2-002.00001_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Conceptual AnimationThe IMAP spacecraft, located at Lagrange Point 1, spins at four revolutions per minute as it surveys the heliosphere.Credit: NASA/Princeton/Patrick McPike", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 14811, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14811/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "IMAP: Mapping The Heliosphere & Sun", "description": "The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe, or IMAP, 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.The mission’s investigation of the boundaries of the heliosphere will be primarily done with energetic neutral atoms, or ENAs. An ENA is a type of uncharged particle formed when an energetic positively charged ion runs into a slow-moving neutral atom. The ion picks up an extra negatively charged electron in the collision, making it neutral — hence the name energetic neutral atom. This process frequently happens wherever there is plasma in space, such as throughout the heliosphere, including its boundary.The IMAP-Lo, IMAP-HI, and IMAP-Ultra instruments on IMAP are imaging the energies and composition of ENAs.Learn more about IMAP: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/imap/ || ", "release_date": "2025-04-02T00:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2025-12-11T13:45:55.604580-05:00", "main_image": { "id": 1195041, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014800/a014811/14811_IMAP_ScanningFOV2_H264.00001_print.jpg", "filename": "14811_IMAP_ScanningFOV2_H264.00001_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Conceptual AnimationThe IMAP spacecraft consists of 10 instruments monitor space weather and study and map the heliosphere, a vast magnetic bubble surrounding the Sun protecting our solar system from radiation. Credit: NASA/Princeton/Patrick McPike", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } } ], "sources": [], "products": [ { "id": 14895, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14895/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Mapping the Boundaries of Our Home in Space with NASA’s IMAP Mission", "description": "NASA’s new Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe, or IMAP, will explore and map the very boundaries of our heliosphere — a huge bubble created by the Sun's wind that encapsulates our solar system — and study how that boundary interacts with the local galactic neighborhood beyond.As a modern-day celestial cartographer, IMAP will 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 with interstellar space. Additionally, IMAP will support near real-time observations of the solar wind and energetic particles, which can produce hazardous conditions in the space environment near Earth. IMAP is launching no earlier than Sept. 23, 2025, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Learn more about IMAP science: https://science.nasa.gov/missions/nasas-imap-mission-to-study-boundaries-of-our-home-in-space/Find out more about the IMAP mission: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/imap/ || ", "release_date": "2025-09-17T10:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2025-09-15T14:21:58.200579-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 1158230, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014800/a014895/14895_Thumbnail.jpg", "filename": "14895_Thumbnail.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Produced VideoWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available.Music credit: \"Soaring Dreams” by Klas Johan Wahl and Anders Paul Niska [STIM], “Electric Works” by Philippe Lhommet [SACEM], and “Mercurial Temperment” by Christian Telfold [ASCAP] from Universal Production Music", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } } ], "newer_versions": [], "older_versions": [], "alternate_versions": [] }