Falcon 9 launched IMAP into a transfer orbit that will take it to the Earth-Sun L1 Lagrange Point, located 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.
IMAP will study how the heliosphere interacts with the local galactic neighborhood beyond Earth.
IMAP, or the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe, is a NASA heliophysics mission that will map the boundaries of the heliosphere.
Falcon 9 will launch IMAP into a transfer orbit taking it to the Earth-Sun L1 Lagrange Point, which is 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.
IMAP will support real-time observations of the solar wind and energetic particles that can produce hazardous conditions near Earth.
IMAP, or the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe, is a NASA heliophysics mission that will map the boundaries of the heliosphere.
IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) will launch with two rideshare missions, NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory and NOAA’s Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1).
The IMAP spacecraft will study how the Sun’s energy and particles interact with the heliosphere to enhance understanding of space weather and cosmic radiation and their impacts on Earth and space explorers.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch IMAP, Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, and SWFO-L1 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
IMAP and its two rideshare spacecraft will orbit approximately one million miles from Earth at Lagrange Point 1, positioned toward the Sun.
Liftoff of IMAP, Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, and SWFO-L1 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is targeted for Tuesday, September 23 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA awarded the IMAP launch to SpaceX in 2020.
NASA moved the Lunar Trailblazer off the IMAP launch in 2022 and purchased a rideshare launch slot for Lunar Trailblazer on the IM-2 lunar lander mission by Intuitive Machines.
IMAP will operate from the Earth–sun L-1 Lagrange point, located 1.5 million kilometers from Earth in the direction of the sun.
NASA postponed the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) launch on a Falcon 9 from spring 2025 to no earlier than September 2025.
In November 2023 NASA delayed IMAP from February 2025 to April or May 2025 after completing a Key Decision Point D review to ensure the project team had adequate resources to address risks and technical complexities during system integration and testing.
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center preview for 2025 listed IMAP as launching in late 2025.
Carruthers Geocorona Observatory and NOAA’s Space Weather Follow On L-1 are scheduled to launch in spring 2025 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 alongside NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP).
The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) spacecraft is scheduled to launch on a Falcon 9 in February 2025 and will include NOAA’s Space Weather Follow-On spacecraft and NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory as payloads.
NASA originally planned to launch Lunar Trailblazer as a rideshare on the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission, but IMAP delays pushed that launch into 2025.