Interstellar Boundary Explorer
NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer is a Small Explorer mission that observes the interaction between the heliosphere and surrounding interstellar space. From a highly elliptical Earth orbit, its IBEX-Hi and IBEX-Lo instruments detect energetic neutral atoms arriving from the solar system's distant boundary and assemble global maps of that otherwise invisible region.
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Identity
- Aliases
- IBEXSMEX-10
- Name
- Interstellar Boundary Explorer
- Slug
- interstellar-boundary-explorer
- Status
- active
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer is a Small Explorer mission that observes the interaction between the heliosphere and surrounding interstellar space. From a highly elliptical Earth orbit, its IBEX-Hi and IBEX-Lo instruments detect energetic neutral atoms arriving from the solar system's distant boundary and assemble global maps of that otherwise invisible region.
- Launch Site
- Outcome
- IBEX produced the first all-sky energetic-neutral-atom maps of the heliospheric boundary and discovered a prominent ribbon-shaped emission feature not predicted before launch. Its continuing measurements track how the boundary changes with solar activity and constrain the properties of nearby interstellar material.
- Program
- Small Explorers Program
- Start Date
- 2008-10-19
- Vehicle Families
Links
- Official Url
- https://science.nasa.gov/mission/IBEX/
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- July 18, 2026 at 15:34:40 UTC
- Updated Time
- July 18, 2026 at 15:34:40 UTC
Other
- Affiliations
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles