![\"Technicians](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/imap-closeouts.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>Lee esta nota de prensa en espa\u00f1ol\u00a0aqu\u00ed<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n Media accreditation is open for the launch of three observatories that will study the Sun and enhance the ability to make accurate space weather forecasts, helping protect technology systems that affect life on Earth.<\/p>\n NASA is targeting no earlier than Tuesday, Sept. 23, for the launch of the agency\u2019s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe<\/a>), the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory<\/a>, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On\u2013Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1<\/a>) observatory. The observatories will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.<\/p>\n Accredited media will have the opportunity to participate in prelaunch briefings and interviews with key mission personnel prior to launch, as well as cover the launch. NASA will communicate additional details regarding the media event schedule as the launch date approaches.<\/p>\n Media accreditation deadlines for the launch are as follows:<\/p>\n All accreditation requests must be submitted online at:<\/p>\n https:\/\/media.ksc.nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n NASA\u2019s media accreditation policy<\/a> is available online. For questions about accreditation, please email: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov<\/a>. For other mission questions, please contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468.<\/p>\n Para obtener informaci\u00f3n en espa\u00f1ol en sobre el Centro Espacial Kennedy, comun\u00edquese con Antonia Jaramillo: 321-501-8425. Si desea solicitar entrevistas en espa\u00f1ol sobre IMAP, p\u00f3ngase en contacto con Mar\u00eda-Jos\u00e9 Vi\u00f1as:<\/em> maria-jose.vinasgarcia@nasa.gov<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n NASA\u2019s IMAP<\/a> will use 10 science instruments to study and map the heliosphere, a vast magnetic bubble surrounding the Sun protecting our solar system from radiation incoming from interstellar space. This mission and its two rideshares will orbit the Sun near Lagrange point 1, about one million miles from Earth, where it will scan the heliosphere, analyze the composition of charged particles, and investigate how those particles move through the solar system. This will provide information on how the Sun accelerates charged particles, filling in essential puzzle pieces to understand the space weather environment across the solar system. The IMAP spacecraft also will continuously monitor solar wind and cosmic radiation. Scientists can use this information to evaluate new and improved capabilities for space weather prediction tools and models, which are vital for the health of human space explorers and the longevity of technological systems, like satellites and power grids, that can affect life on Earth.<\/p>\n The agency\u2019s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory is a small satellite set to study the exosphere, the outermost part of Earth\u2019s atmosphere. Using ultraviolet cameras, it will monitor how space weather from the Sun impacts the exosphere, which plays a crucial role in protecting Earth from space weather events that can affect satellites, communications, and power lines. The exosphere, a cloud of neutral hydrogen extending to the Moon and possibly beyond, is created by the breakdown of water and methane by ultraviolet light from the Sun, and its glow, known as the geocorona, has been observed globally only four times before this mission.<\/p>\n The SWFO-L1 mission, managed by NOAA and developed with NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and commercial partners, will use a suite of instruments to provide real-time measurements of solar wind, along with a compact coronagraph to detect coronal mass ejections from the Sun. The observatory, serving as an early warning beacon for potentially destructive space weather events, will enable faster and more accurate forecasts. Its 24\/7 data will support NOAA\u2019s Space Weather Prediction Center in protecting vital infrastructure, economic interests, and national security, both on Earth and in space.<\/p>\n David McComas, professor, Princeton University, leads the IMAP mission with an international team of 25 partner institutions. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, built the spacecraft and operates the mission. NASA\u2019s IMAP is the fifth mission in NASA\u2019s Solar Terrestrial Probes program portfolio. The Explorers and Heliophysics Project Division at NASA Goddard manages the program for the agency\u2019s Heliophysics Division of NASA\u2019s Science Mission Directorate.<\/p>\n NASA\u2019s Launch Services Program<\/a>, based at NASA Kennedy, manages the launch service for the mission.<\/p>\n For more details about the IMAP mission and updates on launch preparations, visit:<\/p>\n https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/imap\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n -end-<\/p>\n Abbey Interrante Sarah Frazier Leejay Lockhart John Jones-Bateman\n
Headquarters, Washington
301-201-0124
abbey.a.interrante@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
202-853-7191
sarah.frazier@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-747-8310
leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n
NOAA\u2019s Satellite and Information Service, Silver Spring, Md.
202-242-0929
john.jones-bateman@noaa.gov<\/a><\/p>\nShare<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n