NASA to launch mission to map dangerous cosmic radiation at the edge of the Solar System

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — NASA is set to launch three spacecrafts Tuesday with the goal of unlocking the mysteries of solar weather at the edge of our solar system.

Just after 7 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time Tuesday, the spacecrafts will launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. All three spacecrafts will launch from a single rocket carrying an Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP).

IMAP’s mission

“IMAP will capture in great detail the boundary dividing our solar system and the Milky Way galaxy,” NASA said.

By watching the boundary, or heliosphere, scientists hope to understand more about the solar system’s first defense against dangerous cosmic rays.

“These three missions are synergistically working together to help us get a better understanding of our star, how space weather impacts Earth and the universe… as well as helping us better understand the system,” Nicki Rayl, Deputy Director of Heliophysics with NASA, said Monday.

According to NASA, the launch comes in preparation to send astronauts around the Moon in 2026 with the Artemis program.

“The Artemis campaign is going to enable human exploration, and we need to conduct the science to make sure our technology, humans, and spacecraft are safe and sound,” Rayl told ABC4.com.

Lagrange 1

Alongside IMAP, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is launching a space weather tracking satellite to understand how Earth’s atmosphere responds to solar storms.

The satellite, known as the Space Weather Follow On – Lagrange 1, is NOAA’s first satellite observatory specifically designed for early warning of solar storms that can threaten astronauts, satellites, and infrastructure on Earth.

“You wouldn’t plan any activities without looking up what the weather’s going to be here on Earth, it’s similar in space,” Dr. Nicole Duncan, Chief Strategist working on two of the spacecrafts, said. “The astronauts have to know the weather.”

Dr. Duncan says the satellites will be strategically located half-way between the Earth and the Sun. At this location, scientists say observatories can observe Earth and have an unobstructed view of the sun.

Carruthers Observatory

NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory will be joining Lagrange 1 and IMAP on the launch. The observatory will study ultraviolet glow of the uppermost layer of Earth’s atmosphere and how it responds to solar storms.

“As space weather comes into the Earth’s space system, it can impact things like communications, GPS, the power grids, even agriculture,” Rayl said. “It can also be important to their health as well.”

The Carruthers Observatory is named after Dr. George Carruthers who captured our only image of the Earth’s exosphere while on the moon during the Apollo 16 mission.

The missions will orbit one million miles from Earth as they monitor and track solar storms. The equipment is expected to provide near real-time data about solar radiation.