NASA’s IMAP Endures Extreme Conditions During Pre-Launch Testing

Narration: Lacey Young

Transcript:

NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe, or IMAP, is undergoing extreme testing at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

After unloading, the spacecraft was lifted into one of Marshall’s thermal vacuum chambers.

Inside the chamber, a 28-day test mimics the extreme environment of space, including temperatures as cold as -148 degrees Fahrenheit.

In space, IMAP will study the heliosphere, the magnetic bubble surrounding and protecting our solar system.

Once testing is complete, the spacecraft will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where it’s slated to launch no earlier than September 2025.