NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) is loaded into the X-ray and Cryogenic Facility (XRCF) thermal vacuum chamber at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, in this photo from March 20, 2025. There, the spacecraft will undergo testing such as dramatic temperature changes to simulate the harsh environment of space.
The IMAP mission is a modern-day celestial cartographer that will map the solar system by studying the heliosphere, a giant bubble created by the Sun’s solar wind that surrounds our solar system and protects it from harmful interstellar radiation. The IMAP mission will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, no earlier than September 2025.
Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Princeton/Ed Whitman
在这张拍摄于2025年3月20日的照片中，NASA的IMAP（星际测绘与加速探测器）被送入位于阿拉巴马州亨茨维尔的马歇尔航天飞行中心的X射线与低温设施（XRCF）热真空舱中。在那里，航天器将接受包括极端温度变化在内的测试，以模拟太空的严酷环境。
IMAP任务是一项现代版的天体制图任务，它将通过研究日球层来绘制太阳系的地图。日球层是由太阳风形成的巨大泡泡，包围并保护着我们的太阳系免受有害的星际辐射侵袭。IMAP任务计划最早于2025年9月，从佛罗里达州的NASA肯尼迪航天中心搭乘SpaceX猎鹰9号火箭发射升空。
影像来源: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Princeton/Ed Whitman
