SpaceX launches NASA’s IMAP mission from Florida to study solar system’s edge

SpaceX launches NASA’s IMAP mission from Florida

SpaceX launched NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - SpaceX launched NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission Wednesday morning from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. 

What we know:

The mission was headed to the Earth-Sun L1 Lagrange Point, about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, where the spacecraft will study the boundary of the heliosphere and provide real-time solar wind data. 

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The Falcon 9 rocket’s first-stage booster has flown once before, supporting the KF-01 mission. It landed on the droneship "Just Read the Instructions," which is stationed in the Atlantic Ocean, after separation. 

NASA/Princeton/Patrick McPike

In addition to IMAP, the launch carried NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory and NOAA’s Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1.

What we don't know:

It's unclear how soon IMAP and its companion instruments will begin returning data once they arrive at their destination.

The backstory:

IMAP is part of NASA’s heliophysics program and will provide unprecedented mapping of the heliosphere — the bubble created by the solar wind that surrounds the solar system. The spacecraft will also help scientists understand how energetic particles from the sun interact with Earth, which has implications for space weather forecasting and astronaut safety.

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What they're saying:

NASA described IMAP as a crucial mission for understanding Earth’s place in the solar system. 

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"IMAP will help researchers better understand the boundary of the heliosphere, a huge bubble created by the Sun surrounding and protecting our solar system," the agency said in its mission announcement.