IMAP Stories

NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) began its two-year primary science mission on Feb. 1 to explore and map the boundaries of our heliosphere — the protective bubble created by the solar wind that encapsulates our solar system. The…

NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) reached its destination at Lagrange point 1, or L1, approximately 1 million miles from Earth toward the Sun on Jan. 10. The mission’s operations team sent commands to the spacecraft on the morning…

All 10 instruments aboard NASA’s newly launched IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) mission have successfully recorded their first measurements in space. With these “first light” observations, the spacecraft is now collecting preliminary science data as it journeys to its…

Read this press release in English here. La NASA y la Administración Nacional Oceánica y Atmosférica (NOAA, por sus siglas en inglés) lanzaron el miércoles tres nuevas misiones para investigar la influencia del Sol en todo el sistema solar. A las…

Lee este comunicado de prensa en español aquí. NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) launched three new missions Wednesday to investigate the Sun’s influence across the solar system. At 7:30 a.m. EDT, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted…

Technicians completed integrating NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow-On Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) satellite to an Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adapter ring at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near NASA’s…

Summary Space is a dangerous place — one that NASA continues to explore for the benefit of all. It’s filled with radiation and high-energy particles that can damage DNA and circuit boards alike. Yet life endures in our solar system…

Editor’s note: This advisory was updated Sept. 22, 2025, to reflect a change in the target launch date. NASA will provide live coverage of prelaunch and launch activities for an observatory designed to study space weather and explore and map…

Soon, there will be three new ways to study the Sun’s influence across the solar system with the launch of a trio of NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) spacecraft. Expected to launch no earlier than Tuesday, Sept.…

NASA will hold a media teleconference at 12 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Sept. 4, to discuss the agency’s upcoming Sun and space weather missions, IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) and Carruthers Geocorona Observatory. The two missions are targeting launch…


