24 September 2025 year Fr. 11:30 (UTC) from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA, using a launch vehicle «Falcon 9 Block 5» NASA's scientific apparatus was launched «IMAP» (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) along with several related devices («SWFO-L1» and «Carruthers Geocorona Observatory»).
The main apparatus of the mission — «IMAP» — intended for the study of the boundaries of the heliosphere. The device will go to the Lagrangian point L1 at a distance of about 1,5 million km from the Earth towards the Sun, where it will be able to continuously monitor the flows of charged particles and their interaction. Its instruments will allow a better understanding of the mechanisms of cosmic ray acceleration and processes at the edge of the Solar System.
A satellite was launched with it 78 «SKOW, which will provide monitoring of "space weather" and timely warning of dangerous solar storms. Another payload was the "Carruthers Geocorona Observatory", created for the study of ultraviolet radiation of the outer shell of the Earth's atmosphere.
This mission is of key importance for both fundamental science, as well as for practical needs — from space weather forecasting to the protection of satellite systems and infrastructure on Earth.
According to the CCS