NASA is preparing a multi‑craft launch that officials say will sharpen scientists’ view of space weather and the tenuous bubble that shields the solar system from interstellar material. The primary passenger on the mission is the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP), accompanied as rideshares by the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Follow‑On at Lagrange point 1 (SWFO‑L1).

IMAP, a NASA heliophysics mission, is designed to map particles and energetic atoms that originate at the edge of the heliosphere and within the inner solar system, probing how the Sun accelerates charged particles and how the heliosphere interacts with the local interstellar medium. According to a NASA statement, IMAP’s instruments will record the composition, velocity and trajectories of neutral atoms and energetic particles, offering a more complete picture of the processes that modulate cosmic rays and drive space weather.

Riding along will be the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, a smaller spacecraft named for early ultraviolet imaging pioneer—intended to image the geocorona, the diffuse hydrogen envelope that surrounds Earth. That hydrogen halo, though faint, affects how solar ultraviolet light and charged particles interact with the near‑Earth environment, and mapping it will refine models of how the planet’s immediate atmosphere exchanges material with space.

NOAA’s SWFO‑L1 payload will sit at the gravitationally balanced L1 point roughly 1.5 million kilometers sunward of Earth, a vantage long used for real‑time solar wind monitoring. SWFO‑L1 will continue and improve the kind of upstream measurements—solar wind speed, density and magnetic field orientation—that allow forecasters to issue alerts for geomagnetic storms hours before they strike Earth. NOAA said in a release that the mission is a core component of the country’s operational space‑weather infrastructure.

Officials emphasize that the combination of a science probe and operational assets on a single rideshare launch demonstrates both fiscal prudence and scientific synergy. Ridesharing reduces launch costs and creates opportunities for cross‑calibration: measurements of incoming solar wind at L1 can be directly linked with IMAP’s observations of how those particles are processed at larger scales. "Bringing these missions together will deepen our understanding of both the fundamental physics and the practical impacts of space weather," NASA said.

Space weather threatens satellites, radio communications, GPS accuracy, aviation and terrestrial power systems. As society grows more dependent on space‑based services, improving forecasting and fundamental knowledge has tangible economic and safety implications. Researchers say the new data will feed models that protect satellite operators, utility managers and mission planners for crewed spaceflight.

The missions also signal growing collaboration between scientific and operational communities and a continued push for open access to space‑weather data. NASA and NOAA pointed to plans for near‑real‑time data sharing with researchers and forecasters, a step that advocates say will accelerate improvements to warning systems and resilience. The combined launch, officials add, will be a test of how efficiently science and services can cohabit a single launch manifest to advance both discovery and public safety.