Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe
Rendering of IMAP | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Names | IMAP | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission type | Heliophysics | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator | Applied Physics Laboratory | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| COSPAR ID | 2025-215A | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| SATCAT no. | 65725 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | imap | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mission duration | 3–5 years (planned) 5 months and 22 days (elapsed) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spacecraft properties | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Applied Physics Laboratory | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Launch mass | 900 kg (1,984 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dry mass | 756 kg (1,667 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dimensions | 2.4 m × 0.9 m (7.9 ft × 3.0 ft) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Start of mission | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Launch date | 24 September 2025, 11:30 UTC | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Launch site | Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Contractor | SpaceX | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Orbital parameters | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reference system | Heliocentric | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Regime | Halo orbit (L1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Perigee altitude | ~1.6 million km (0.99 million mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) is a heliophysics mission that will simultaneously investigate two important and coupled science topics in the heliosphere: the acceleration of energetic particles and interaction of the solar wind with the local interstellar medium. These science topics are coupled because particles accelerated in the inner heliosphere play crucial roles in the outer heliospheric interaction. In 2018, NASA selected a team led by David J. McComas of Princeton University to implement the mission. IMAP will be a Sun-tracking spin-stabilized satellite in orbit about the Sun–Earth L1 Lagrange point with a science payload of ten instruments. IMAP will also continuously broadcast real-time in-situ data that can be used for space weather prediction. It is the fifth mission selected in the Solar Terrestrial Probes program, after TIMED, Hinode, STEREO and MMS. IMAP launched on 24 September 2025.