API VERSION: 1.2
API SOURCE: NASA/JPL Horizons API

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 Revised: Jan 13, 2026         IMAP Spacecraft / (Earth)                   -43
                              https://imap.princeton.edu/

 BACKGROUND:
  The "Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe" (IMAP) will study the
  energization of charged particles and interaction of the solar wind with
  that of other stars and material in our galaxy. IMAP is the fifth mission 
  in NASA's Solar Terrestrial Probes (STP) Program. 

  It was launched Sep. 24, 2025 @ 11:30 UTC from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) 
  at Kennedy Space Center, USA, on a Falcon 9 booster.

  From a halo-orbit at the Earth-Sun L1 Lagrange Point, ~1.6 million km
  closer to the Sun than Earth and free from planetary magnetic influences,
  IMAP will spin once every 15 seconds while using 10 instruments to scan 
  the heliosphere.

 SCIENCE GOALS
  * What elements make up the interstellar gas and dust (indication of origin)
  * How does the solar wind and interstellar medium interact through the 
     boundaries of our heliosphere?
  * What causes some solar particles to get accelerated to nearly the speed 
     of light, making them dangerous to satellites and astronauts, and how 
     can it be predicted when these particles will occur?

 SPACECRAFT PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
  Dry mass         : ~800 kg
  Launch mass      : ~900 kg
  Dimensions       : cylindrical, 3-m diameter, 1.5-m height. 2.5-m boom
  Solar arrays     : 500 Watts, sun-facing
  Spin             : 4 rpm
  Communications   : X-band, 375-500 kilobits/s down, 2 kbps up. 
  Propulsion       : 12 thrusters, three hydrazine tanks
  Launch vehicle   : Space-X Falcon-9 from Kennedy Space Center 

 SPACECRAFT TRAJECTORY: 
  Post-launch merged trajectory. Tracking data through January 11. Predicts 
  thereafter.

  Trajectory name                               Start             Stop
  ----------------------------------------- ----------------- -----------------
  imap_pred_od017_20260111_20260222_v01     2025-Sep-24 13:02 2026-Feb-21 23:59 
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No ephemeris for target "IMAP (spacecraft)" prior to A.D. 2025-SEP-24 13:00:00.0000 UT