NASA’s Princeton-led mission to explore the solar system’s boundary is now set to launch its probe on Sept. 24 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Princeton Professor of Astrophysical Sciences David McComas serves as the principal investigator for the IMAP mission.

McComas, a professor of astrophysical sciences and associated faculty in mechanical and aerospace engineering, is the principal investigator for the entire NASA science mission.  Rankin, a research scholar and lecturer in astrophysical sciences,

NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) completed its Flight Readiness Review on Sept. 18, which certifies its readiness to initiate final launch preparation activities. IMAP is targeting a launch date of Sept.

The NASA Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP), along with secondary payloads, is scheduled to launch aboard a Falcon 9 on Wednesday, Sept. 24, from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch is set for 7:30 AM EDT (11:30 UTC) during an instantaneous launch window.

NASA’s IMAP mission, led by Princeton University’s David McComas, will study the heliosphere — the invisible electromagnetic shield that protects our solar system — to better understand this mysterious boundary and provide critical solar storm monitoring.

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is managing the payload of instruments aboard NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) spacecraft scheduled to launch Wednesday, September 24, 2025 at 7:30 a.

NASA's Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe, or IMAP, will create detailed maps of the bubble that protects our entire solar system. NASA's Heliophysics Deputy Division Director Nicki Rayl talks about that and what else is set to launch from Kennedy Space Center.

Liftoff of the IMAP missions on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is targeted for September 23, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.