Abstract
The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) is a revolutionary mission that simultaneously investigates two of the most important overarching issues in Heliophysics today: the acceleration of energetic particles and interaction of the solar wind with the local interstellar medium. While seemingly disparate, these are intimately coupled because particles accelerated in the inner heliosphere play critical roles in the outer heliospheric interaction. Selected by NASA in 2018, IMAP is planned to launch in 2024. The IMAP spacecraft is a simple sun-pointed spinner in orbit about the Sun-Earth L1 point. IMAP’s ten instruments provide a complete and synergistic set of observations to simultaneously dissect the particle injection and acceleration processes at 1 AU while remotely probing the global heliospheric interaction and its response to particle populations generated by these processes. In situ at 1 AU, IMAP provides detailed observations of solar wind electrons and ions; suprathermal, pickup, and energetic ions; and the interplanetary magnetic field. For the outer heliosphere interaction, IMAP provides advanced global observations of the remote plasma and energetic ions over a broad energy range via energetic neutral atom imaging, and precise observations of interstellar neutral atoms penetrating the heliosphere. Complementary observations of interstellar dust and the ultraviolet glow of interstellar neutrals further deepen the physical understanding from IMAP. IMAP also continuously broadcasts vital real-time space weather observations. Finally, IMAP engages the broader Heliophysics community through a variety of innovative opportunities. This paper summarizes the IMAP mission at the start of Phase A development.
Highlights
Introduction and OverviewThe Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission had its genesis in the National Academy of Science’s 2012 Heliophysics Decadal Survey (National Research Council 2013), where the Decadal Survey team merged two of the proposed mission concepts into a moderate-scale, PI-led mission for NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Probes (STP) line
We organize the IMAP mission science around the four science objectives specified in the IMAP Announcement of Opportunity (AO): (1) improve understanding of the composition and properties of the local interstellar medium (LISM), (2) advance understanding of the temporal and spatial evolution of the boundary region in which the solar wind and the interstellar medium interact, (3) identify and advance the understanding of processes related to the interactions of the magnetic field of the Sun and the LISM, and
IMAP provides comprehensive instrumentation to image the solar system’s global interstellar boundaries and investigate the origins of particle acceleration (Table 1). This includes energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) instruments with average collection power increased by ∼ 15×, ∼ 25×, ∼ 35× for IMAP-Lo, IMAP-Hi, and IMAP-Ultra instrument (Ultra) compared to Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX)-Lo, IBEX-Hi, and Ion and Neutral Camera (INCA) (Fig. 5), improved, 4°, angular resolution, and the ability to resolve temporal changes down to 3 months
Summary
The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission had its genesis in the National Academy of Science’s 2012 Heliophysics Decadal Survey (National Research Council 2013), where the Decadal Survey team merged two of the proposed mission concepts into a moderate-scale, PI-led mission for NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Probes (STP) line. IMAP investigates two critical and interrelated frontiers of research in Heliophysics, the acceleration of energetic particles (EPs) in interplanetary space and the interaction of the solar wind with the local interstellar medium. (3) identify and advance the understanding of processes related to the interactions of the magnetic field of the Sun and the LISM, and (4) identify and advance understanding of particle injection and acceleration processes near the Sun, in the heliosphere and heliosheath These IMAP science objectives address numerous fundamental and outstanding problems in Heliophysics research, including the. For the critical heliospheric ENA imaging and ISN atom measurements, our IMAP team led the IBEX-Lo, IBEX-Hi, and Cassini/INCA instruments; these three instruments effectively define the current state of the art for the required observations of neutrals from 10 eV to 70 keV. We include an IMAP Active Link for Real-Time (I-ALiRT) real-time data capability, based on the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) Real-Time Space Weather that provides critical space weather observations for the community
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