NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe has begun its integration and testing phase, installing its propulsion system and commencing thermal tests.
The propulsion system was installed by Aerojet Rocketdyne on Tuesday, while thermal testing took place at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, according to Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, the IMAP mission’s builder and operator.
IMAP marks the fifth endeavor of NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Probes Program. Its objective is to investigate how particles from the Sun are energized and how solar wind interacts with interstellar space.
The collaborative effort led by STP, APL and Princeton University aims to produce a map of the heliosphere’s boundaries as well as the particles found in interplanetary space.
Princeton University started livestreaming construction and other activities related to the spacecraft on Youtube, and will continue to broadcast until its launch in 2025.
