The IMAP Observatory Overview

Space Science Reviews 2026 Open access

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Authors: K. P. Hegarty, S. Kubota, Michael J. Cully, D. J. McComas, E. R. Christian, N. A. Schwadron, M. Gkioulidou, Stewart S. Bushman, Christina M. Collura, Michael G. Dauberman, C. W. Drabenstadt, Andrew S. Driesman
+32 more A. Dubill, Brian M. Duffy, Ellen Coleman, D. A. Eng, C. J. Ercol, Andrew P. Gerger, R. Hall, J. Hahn, M. Haque, S. Hefter, D. Jeong, D. Jones, Justin Kelman, Christopher J. Krupiarz, Faith Kujawa, Corinne Lippe, Daniel E. Matlin, C. Monaco, D. Myers, E. Rivera Sepulveda, D. Rodriguez, Lew Roufberg, John R. Scherrer, Marsha R. Schwinger, A. Shin, Fazle E. Siddique, E. W. Smith, R. Smith, M. Tapley, S. Vernon, Cristina Vigil, S. E. Weidner
DOI: 10.1007/s11214-026-01272-z
Cited by: 1
References: 8

Abstract

NASA's Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission simultaneously investigates the acceleration of particles expelled from the Sun, and how the interaction of these particles with the local interstellar medium shapes our heliospheric boundary. The IMAP observatory makes critical measurements that facilitate this ground breaking science by incorporating a spin stabilized spacecraft orbiting around the first Sun-Earth Lagrange point, L1, with a payload comprised of ten unique instruments, making comprehensive and synergistic observations of solar wind, suprathermal, energetic particles and magnetic field, energetic neutral atoms mapping the boundary of our heliosphere, as well as interstellar neutral atoms and dust. This paper provides details on the design, integration, and testing of the IMAP observatory.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics Astro and Planetary Science

Publication details

Journal / source
Space Science Reviews
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Volume
222
Issue
1
Pages
16–16
Publication date
29 January 2026
Language
EN