IMAP will map the structure of this heliospheric boundary and examine how it interacts with the local interstellar environment beyond the solar system. As the spacecraft travels toward its operational orbit, it will serve as a cartographer for the heliosphere, characterizing how the solar wind shapes this large bubble in space.
In addition to supplying CoDICE, Southwest Research Institute managed the IMAP payload, coordinating the development and delivery of all 10 mission instruments contributed by multiple institutions. All of the instruments have now achieved first-light observations as IMAP continues its cruise to its final observing location.
"IMAP features the next generation of instruments designed to give us a more complete picture of the interaction between the interstellar medium and the solar wind," said SwRI's Susan Pope, the mission's payload manager. "This will provide a better understanding of our place in the universe."
CoDICE measures the distribution and composition of interstellar pickup ions, particles that make it through the heliospheric filter. The instrument will also characterize solar wind ions and determine the mass and composition of highly energized solar particles associated with flares and coronal mass ejections.
"The CoDICE instrument performed just as expected, identifying particles from different origins by measuring protons as well as rarer ion species such as interstellar helium ions, and solar wind oxygen and iron ions," said Dr. Mihir Desai, an IMAP co-investigator and part of the CoDICE leadership team.
The heliosphere is created by the constant flow of particles from the Sun known as the solar wind, which separates the solar system from the interstellar medium, the accumulated outflows of other stars. IMAP's instruments will collect and analyze particles that cross this boundary and will examine the physical processes that accelerate particles throughout the heliosphere and beyond. These energetic particles and cosmic rays can harm astronauts and space-based technologies.
"Initially developed through the Institute's internal research and development program and then matured through the IMAP mission, CoDICE combines the capabilities of multiple instruments into one patented sensor," said SwRI's Dr. Stefano Livi, who led its development. "The 22-pound instrument is about the size of a 5-gallon paint bucket and has a unique and beautiful thermal management design."
Spacecraft and their instruments must operate through large temperature variations between direct sunlight and deep-space cold, and CoDICE incorporates a dedicated thermal-control approach to maintain performance. The half of the instrument that continuously faces the Sun has a reflective gold-colored surface to deflect incoming heat, while the opposite side uses a matte black surface to absorb heat and help stabilize the instrument's temperature.
With all of IMAP's instruments operating, the mission is close to completing its commissioning phase. IMAP has entered a science demonstration phase following commissioning and is preparing for routine science operations scheduled to begin on Feb. 1, 2026, once the spacecraft reaches its target orbit around the Sun - Earth Lagrange Point 1, about one million miles sunward of Earth.
By studying how the solar wind and stellar winds interact, IMAP will contribute to NASA's heliophysics fleet that examines how the Sun affects the space environment near Earth and across the solar system. Missions observing the Sun, near-Earth space, and the heliosphere's boundary form a system observatory that helps clarify the processes that drive space weather and supports efforts to forecast conditions throughout the solar system.
Dr. David McComas of Princeton University serves as IMAP's principal investigator. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, built the spacecraft and operates the mission, which is the fifth mission in NASA's Solar Terrestrial Probes program portfolio managed by the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center.
Related Links
Southwest Research Institute
Stellar Chemistry, The Universe And All Within It
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