WEBVTT 1 00:00:03.439 --> 00:00:07.719 Welcome to Bedtime Astronomy. Explore the wonders of the cosmos 2 00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:12.279 with our soothing Bedtime Astronomie podcast. Each episode offers a 3 00:00:12.359 --> 00:00:16.320 gentle journey through the stars, planets, and beyond, perfect for 4 00:00:16.399 --> 00:00:20.239 unwinding after a long day. Let's travel through the mysteries 5 00:00:20.239 --> 00:00:22.440 of the universe as you drift off into a peaceful 6 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:26.719 slumber under the night sky. 7 00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:29.640 Welcome you and I are about to take a scientific 8 00:00:29.719 --> 00:00:32.439 journey way out there, about a million miles away actually, 9 00:00:32.759 --> 00:00:36.200 because today we are going to map out this extraordinary 10 00:00:36.679 --> 00:00:40.000 invisible protective environment we live in. It's a shield really 11 00:00:40.439 --> 00:00:42.359 that surrounds our entire solar system. 12 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:44.920 It really is something, isn't it. It's so easy to 13 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:47.640 just forget that we're not just floating in empty space. 14 00:00:47.679 --> 00:00:54.000 We're inside this huge, dynamic electromagnetic bubble that well makes 15 00:00:54.039 --> 00:00:56.679 life possible. It's our home, and yet so much of 16 00:00:56.679 --> 00:00:58.479 it is still a mystery exactly. 17 00:00:58.880 --> 00:01:01.520 And our task today is to really unpack the science 18 00:01:01.759 --> 00:01:04.519 behind this layer. It's called the heliosphere. We'll also get 19 00:01:04.599 --> 00:01:07.439 into NASA's newest mission to measure and map it IMAP. 20 00:01:07.640 --> 00:01:10.799 That's the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe, right and what 21 00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:13.400 we found in the research the materials about this mission. 22 00:01:13.599 --> 00:01:16.239 It's not just routine science. NASA itself apparently thinks the 23 00:01:16.280 --> 00:01:17.879 data coming back from this is going to and I 24 00:01:17.959 --> 00:01:20.000 quote literally rewrite tech books. 25 00:01:20.239 --> 00:01:22.560 That's the level of ambition we're talking about here. It's 26 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:25.799 huge and our source material today. It really takes us 27 00:01:25.879 --> 00:01:29.200 right into the heart of this very complex project. We're 28 00:01:29.200 --> 00:01:32.239 looking at research updates around the launch, the experts involved. 29 00:01:32.640 --> 00:01:35.159 We're going to dig into the fundamental physics and you know, 30 00:01:35.239 --> 00:01:38.599 the pretty groundbreaking engineering needed to try and understand our 31 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:39.799 place in the cosmos. 32 00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:42.480 Okay, so let's start with the basics, but let's give 33 00:01:42.519 --> 00:01:46.359 it the depth emission like this really deserves. If you 34 00:01:46.439 --> 00:01:50.200 had to quickly define the heliosphere for someone, what is 35 00:01:50.239 --> 00:01:53.280 it and what's its absolute most critical job? 36 00:01:53.400 --> 00:01:58.000 Okay, So, basically, the heliosphere is the Sun's sphere of influence. 37 00:01:58.120 --> 00:02:01.040 Think of it like a giant magnetic bubble. The Sun 38 00:02:01.159 --> 00:02:04.680 creates it by constantly blowing material outwards, and it stretches 39 00:02:04.760 --> 00:02:07.840 way past the orbits of Pluto neptunes surrounding the whole 40 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:08.599 Solar system. 41 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:09.000 Wow. 42 00:02:09.120 --> 00:02:12.639 Its most critical role, the life giving one, is shielding us, 43 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:15.360 Shielding us from galacric cosmic radiation. 44 00:02:15.719 --> 00:02:19.360 Okay, galactic cosmic radiation. Let's break that down. We're talking 45 00:02:19.400 --> 00:02:23.159 about really high energy particles, right, stuff traveling near the 46 00:02:23.199 --> 00:02:27.000 speed of light, maybe from exploding stars, supernovae, black holes, 47 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:29.159 way outside our solar system. 48 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:33.840 That's absolutely right, These cosmic rays, they're incredibly damaging to life, 49 00:02:33.879 --> 00:02:37.120 to electronics, you name it. Without the heliosphere acting as 50 00:02:37.159 --> 00:02:41.759 this massive primary deflector shield, that constant bombardment would make 51 00:02:41.800 --> 00:02:44.960 Earth well uninhabitable, and it would certainly make space travel 52 00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:48.800 beyond say low Earth orbit incredibly dangerous. So it's like 53 00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:51.159 our first line of defense, it is, and actually you 54 00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:53.879 get sort of a dual protection. The heliosphere deals with 55 00:02:53.919 --> 00:02:58.080 that incoming interstellar radiation. First it slows it down deflex 56 00:02:58.199 --> 00:03:01.759 rays coming from deep space. Then closer to home, Earth's 57 00:03:01.759 --> 00:03:05.240 own magnetic field provides another layer of defense against anything 58 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:07.840 that gets through or against stuff from the Sun itself. 59 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:10.840 But honestly, without the heliosphere of taking the brunt of 60 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:14.439 that galactic threat, Earth's shield alone wouldn't be enough. It'd 61 00:03:14.439 --> 00:03:15.800 be overwhelmed pretty quickly. 62 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:19.639 Okay, let's unpack this bubble itself. Then, how is this 63 00:03:19.879 --> 00:03:25.120 enormous environment actually created and maintained. It's constantly pushing against 64 00:03:25.159 --> 00:03:28.159 interstillar space. Right. You can't just inflate something that big 65 00:03:28.199 --> 00:03:31.080 with nothing. There must be a massive engine driving it. 66 00:03:31.159 --> 00:03:34.840 The engine is the Sun, and the air inflating the bubble, 67 00:03:34.879 --> 00:03:37.439 so to speak, is the solar wind. You need to 68 00:03:37.479 --> 00:03:40.560 think of the solar wind as this supersonic, non stop 69 00:03:40.599 --> 00:03:46.560 stream of extremely high energy particles, protons, ions, electrons, all. 70 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:49.080 Shooting out from the Sun in every direction exactly. And 71 00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:52.000 the speeds here are incredible. We're talking often faster than 72 00:03:52.039 --> 00:03:54.919 a million miles per hour. This isn't some gentle breeze. 73 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:57.879 No, No, it's intensely powerful. Think of it more like 74 00:03:57.919 --> 00:04:02.080 a plasma hurricane, constantly blowing. And this flow of particles, 75 00:04:02.120 --> 00:04:06.240 which is fundamentally charged material, carries the Sun's magnetic field 76 00:04:06.319 --> 00:04:09.199 lines out with it. That's key, so it inflates and 77 00:04:09.240 --> 00:04:12.960 maintains the heliosphere. The helio sphere isn't just a physical boundary. 78 00:04:13.039 --> 00:04:16.240 It's defined by these magnetic fields and the charged plasma 79 00:04:16.279 --> 00:04:18.759 inside it, all driven by the Sun's outflow. 80 00:04:18.879 --> 00:04:22.120 So it's an electromagnetic environment fundamentally. Yes. Let's talk a 81 00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:24.519 bit more about the state of that environment. Though it's 82 00:04:24.519 --> 00:04:27.279 not smooth sailing out there, is it. It's turbulent. Our 83 00:04:27.319 --> 00:04:30.720 sources really highlighted that turbulence is crucial for understanding how 84 00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:33.839 energy moves around in space. What does that really mean here? 85 00:04:33.959 --> 00:04:39.160 Right? Turbulence in space plasma physics, it's not just random chaos. 86 00:04:39.160 --> 00:04:42.839 It's actually the main way energy gets distributed and eventually 87 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:46.279 dissipated turned into heat. Think of a fast river. Again, 88 00:04:46.360 --> 00:04:49.160 the main current is like the solar windflow. Okay, but 89 00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:52.079 when that current hit something, maybe a slower patch of 90 00:04:52.079 --> 00:04:55.079 plasma or a kink in the magnetic field, it creates 91 00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:58.040 swirls and eddies. That's magnetic field turbulence. 92 00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:00.600 Ah, like the river losing its main four into these 93 00:05:00.600 --> 00:05:02.160 smaller chaotic motions. 94 00:05:02.199 --> 00:05:06.480 Precisely, and in space this turbulence is incredibly important. It's 95 00:05:06.519 --> 00:05:08.879 strongly linked to how the plasma and the solar wind 96 00:05:08.920 --> 00:05:12.000 heats up, and also how particles get accelerated to those 97 00:05:12.040 --> 00:05:15.839 crazy high energies we talked about. So we can accurately 98 00:05:15.879 --> 00:05:18.519 measure how fast this turbulence decay is, how fast it 99 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:21.639 heats things. We solve a huge piece of the puzzle 100 00:05:21.639 --> 00:05:23.120 in space physics, and. 101 00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:25.680 This brings us right to one of the key experts 102 00:05:25.720 --> 00:05:29.560 behind this mission and why his specific focus is so important. 103 00:05:30.279 --> 00:05:33.560 Our sources point to the foundational work of William H. Matheas. 104 00:05:33.959 --> 00:05:37.199 He's the Martine Palmeranz Professor of Physics and Astronomy at 105 00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:40.800 the University of Delaware, a key co investigator on IMAP. Yes, 106 00:05:40.839 --> 00:05:43.639 his work is vital, and we should probably pause here 107 00:05:43.720 --> 00:05:45.680 just to note this isn't just any expert. He was 108 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:48.319 elected to the National Academy of Sciences just this year. 109 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:51.480 That's one of the highest honors of scientists can get 110 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:52.839 lifetime achievement. Stuff. 111 00:05:52.920 --> 00:05:56.600 It absolutely is, and doctor Matheas's involvement is crucial and 112 00:05:56.800 --> 00:06:01.079 very specific. It really connects the Sun itself to this bubble. 113 00:06:01.160 --> 00:06:05.519 His expertise is right at that intersection heliospheric science and 114 00:06:05.560 --> 00:06:08.519 the dynamics of the solar wind, especially how that energy 115 00:06:08.600 --> 00:06:10.360 moves through the system via turbulence. 116 00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:13.639 So what exactly were his main contributions to getting IAMP 117 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:14.319 off the ground. 118 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:17.720 Well, his role went beyond just general theory. He was 119 00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:20.879 really instrumental in shaping the core scientific questions IMMA is 120 00:06:20.920 --> 00:06:25.000 trying to answer. He did key initial calculations and crucially 121 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:28.120 he helped set the precise specifications for the magnetic field 122 00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:29.560 instrument i AM carries. 123 00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:33.800 Wow. So he's defining how they measure this invisible environment. 124 00:06:33.519 --> 00:06:36.839 In large part, yes, especially for the magnetic aspects. His 125 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:40.160 focus is on capturing that really elusive data on magnetic 126 00:06:40.240 --> 00:06:44.319 field turbulence near Earth and also things like plasma velocities 127 00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:47.759 and temperatures. He's trying to quantify the exact nature of 128 00:06:47.800 --> 00:06:49.120 those whirlpools in space. 129 00:06:49.240 --> 00:06:51.040 Got it. So, if you want to understand how the 130 00:06:51.079 --> 00:06:55.519 solar wind actually creates and sustains this protective bubble. 131 00:06:55.240 --> 00:06:57.639 You need someone who can model and measure its turbulent 132 00:06:57.720 --> 00:07:02.360 state accurately and hopefully soon in three dimensions. And that 133 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:06.399 precise measurement of turbulence, especially how it dissipates. That's the 134 00:07:06.480 --> 00:07:09.839 link between this basic physics and the really advanced measurement 135 00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:12.560 capabilities we'll get into later with the l One constellation. 136 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:14.879 Okay, this is where it gets really fascinating for me. 137 00:07:15.399 --> 00:07:19.839 The actual mission logistics. Where is this spacecraft going to 138 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:23.120 sit to do its work. Let's talk hardware timeline. 139 00:07:23.279 --> 00:07:26.920 Right. The mission is IMAP Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe. 140 00:07:27.279 --> 00:07:32.079 The launch vehicle a reliable choice the SpaceX Falcon nine rocket. 141 00:07:31.800 --> 00:07:34.480 And according to the sources, the target launch date for 142 00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:38.399 this this whole multipart mission was set for September twenty fourth, 143 00:07:38.439 --> 00:07:42.319 around seven thirty am Eastern from Kennedy Space Center. The 144 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:44.920 main mission is planned to investigate these key questions over 145 00:07:44.920 --> 00:07:48.240 about two years initially, but the expectation is data collection 146 00:07:48.279 --> 00:07:50.000 will go on much longer. Hopefully. 147 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:52.360 Yes, But the really cool part I think is a destination. 148 00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:55.240 I'map's address is Lagrune Point one ILL one. 149 00:07:55.439 --> 00:07:57.639 We hear about Lagron's points a lot in space missions. 150 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:00.759 Hy L one, specifically about a million miles from out 151 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:04.160 towards the Sun. What makes that particular spot in space 152 00:08:04.199 --> 00:08:04.759 so special? 153 00:08:05.160 --> 00:08:08.839 L one is basically a gravitational balancing point. It's one 154 00:08:08.879 --> 00:08:12.240 of five Lagrange points in the Earth Sun System along 155 00:08:12.240 --> 00:08:14.639 the line connecting the Sun and Earth. It's a spot 156 00:08:14.680 --> 00:08:17.199 where the pull from the Sun and the pull from Earth, 157 00:08:17.519 --> 00:08:21.360 plus the centrifugal force needed to orbit with Earth, they 158 00:08:21.439 --> 00:08:23.079 all cancel each other out more. 159 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:25.720 Or less, so it's like an incredibly efficient parking spot 160 00:08:25.800 --> 00:08:28.199 in space. The spacecraft doesn't need to burn a lot 161 00:08:28.199 --> 00:08:31.160 of fuel constantly fighting gravity from the Sun or the Earth. 162 00:08:31.240 --> 00:08:34.799 You can just hang out there relative to us exactly. 163 00:08:34.879 --> 00:08:39.879 That stability, that efficiency, it allows for long term continuous measurements, 164 00:08:40.279 --> 00:08:43.039 which is vital if you're monitoring something as dynamic and 165 00:08:43.080 --> 00:08:46.879 constantly changing as the solar wind. You need that consistency 166 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:49.039 to see the patterns, detect the subtle shifts. 167 00:08:49.159 --> 00:08:50.039 Makes sense, but. 168 00:08:50.039 --> 00:08:53.480 There's also a massive immediate safety benefit to being at 169 00:08:53.600 --> 00:08:56.240 L one. This speaks directly to the practical side of. 170 00:08:56.159 --> 00:08:59.279 The science, the space weather aspect we touched on. How 171 00:08:59.320 --> 00:09:02.120 does L one act as an early warning system. 172 00:09:02.440 --> 00:09:05.200 It's all about its position. It's a million miles closer 173 00:09:05.240 --> 00:09:07.639 to the source of the danger than we are here 174 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:10.720 on Earth. So if there's a big burst of particles 175 00:09:10.759 --> 00:09:14.039 from the Sun like a coronal mass ejection or CME, 176 00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:14.919 which can be. 177 00:09:14.879 --> 00:09:16.840 Really nasty for satellites and power. 178 00:09:16.639 --> 00:09:20.679 Grids, extremely nasty, IMP and the other spacecraft stationed at 179 00:09:20.759 --> 00:09:22.960 L one, we'll see that solar storm coming before it 180 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:23.600 reaches Earth. 181 00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:25.799 And what kind of lead time are we talking about? 182 00:09:25.799 --> 00:09:27.200 How much warning does that give us? 183 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:30.360 It typically provides about half an hour's warning before those 184 00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:32.000 harmful particles arrive at Earth. 185 00:09:32.159 --> 00:09:35.679 Thirty minutes I mean, is that actually enough time to 186 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:39.360 do anything significant if a CME is barreling towards US 187 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:40.080 super fast. 188 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:43.240 That's a fair question and the answer is yes, absolutely, 189 00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:46.759 that thirty minutes can be the difference between major disruption 190 00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:51.159 and just writing it out. For satellite operators, ground control 191 00:09:51.240 --> 00:09:54.559 teams can use that time to power down sensitive electronics, 192 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:58.000 maybe reorient the satellite to a safer angle, or even 193 00:09:58.120 --> 00:10:02.519 upload protective software patches. And for astronauts, especially if we 194 00:10:02.559 --> 00:10:05.600 think about future missions to the Moon or Mars outside 195 00:10:05.679 --> 00:10:09.080 Earth's magnetic protection, thirty minutes is enough time to get 196 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:13.120 to specially shielded areas within their spacecraft or habitat. Without 197 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:15.840 l one acting as that picket line, the warning time 198 00:10:15.879 --> 00:10:18.879 could be practically zero. The storm hits before we even 199 00:10:18.919 --> 00:10:21.320 know it's coming. So yeah, that l one fleet is 200 00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:24.840 a critical practical tool for protecting our technology and eventually 201 00:10:25.240 --> 00:10:26.080 humans in space. 202 00:10:26.559 --> 00:10:30.360 That practical safety angle is definitely vital. But let's pivot 203 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:33.240 back to the core science goals, the ones that NASA 204 00:10:33.240 --> 00:10:37.559 thinks will, as they said, literally rewrite textbooks. This mission 205 00:10:37.600 --> 00:10:41.360 isn't just about monitoring. It's designed for genuine discovery science. 206 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:43.440 And to back up that claim, you really have to 207 00:10:43.480 --> 00:10:48.159 target fundamental unanswered questions in astrophysics, big ones. The ability 208 00:10:48.200 --> 00:10:51.559 to make those breakthroughs rests on IMAP's toolkit. It's carrying 209 00:10:51.559 --> 00:10:55.080 a suite of ten highly sophisticated instruments. They're designed to 210 00:10:55.120 --> 00:10:57.679 measure pretty much everything you need to understand what's happening 211 00:10:57.720 --> 00:11:00.559 out there, the solar wind itself, the plasma, high enge 212 00:11:00.559 --> 00:11:04.080 of particles, magnetic fields, the whole shebang, okay. 213 00:11:03.879 --> 00:11:08.039 And the research material pointed to two main, really fundamental issues. 214 00:11:08.120 --> 00:11:10.960 IMAP is built to investigate. Let's tackle the first one. 215 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:12.679 Particle acceleration. 216 00:11:13.320 --> 00:11:16.000 Yes, this is a really deep mystery. Goal number one 217 00:11:16.039 --> 00:11:20.240 is understanding particle acceleration. How do charged particles coming off 218 00:11:20.279 --> 00:11:23.679 the Sun, mostly protons and ions, gain so much extra 219 00:11:23.799 --> 00:11:26.960 energy after they leave the Sun's surface. We know they 220 00:11:27.000 --> 00:11:30.360 start out fast, but something out there in interplanetary space 221 00:11:30.399 --> 00:11:33.639 seems to supercharge them, often pushing them close to the 222 00:11:33.679 --> 00:11:34.320 speed of light. 223 00:11:34.559 --> 00:11:37.320 What's the current thinking on how that happens and why 224 00:11:37.399 --> 00:11:38.080 isn't it enough? 225 00:11:38.279 --> 00:11:41.879 Well, the standard model involves things like shock acceleration, sometimes 226 00:11:41.960 --> 00:11:45.720 called first order fer Me acceleration. Imagine a particle bouncing 227 00:11:45.759 --> 00:11:48.440 back and forth across a shockwave, maybe from a cme 228 00:11:48.679 --> 00:11:52.360 plowing through slower solar wind like a tennis ball getting 229 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:56.159 hit repeatedly between two converging walls. Each bounce speeds it up. 230 00:11:56.240 --> 00:11:57.559 Okay, that makes intuitive sense. 231 00:11:57.840 --> 00:12:00.879 It does. But when we look closely at opserve that 232 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:04.480 mechanism alone doesn't seem to fully explain the absolute highest 233 00:12:04.559 --> 00:12:08.799 energies we see or how quickly particles sometimes get accelerated 234 00:12:08.840 --> 00:12:11.320 in specific events. There seems to be something missing or 235 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:13.639 maybe another process working alongside it. 236 00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:16.919 So I am is trying to find like a hidden 237 00:12:17.039 --> 00:12:19.039 accelerator pedal in the universe. 238 00:12:19.320 --> 00:12:21.679 That's a good way to put it. The instruments are 239 00:12:21.679 --> 00:12:25.320 designed to measure the energy spectrum, the composition, and pinpoint 240 00:12:25.360 --> 00:12:28.799 the location of these accelerated particles with way better sensitivity 241 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:32.279 than before. By figuring out exactly where and how fast 242 00:12:32.279 --> 00:12:35.240 they get boosted, the hope is to uncover those missing pieces, 243 00:12:35.720 --> 00:12:40.600 maybe identify entirely new acceleration mechanisms. That's definitely textbook rewriting 244 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:41.440 potential right there. 245 00:12:41.519 --> 00:12:45.279 Definitely Wait, what about the second big question interstellar interaction? 246 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:48.279 This one is about the big picture, the boundary war. 247 00:12:48.360 --> 00:12:51.440 You could say it's about how our entire protective bubble 248 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:55.639 the heliosphere interacts with what's outside it, the interstellar medium, 249 00:12:55.639 --> 00:12:59.919 the stuff between the stars, gas, dust, magnetic fields, neutral particle, 250 00:13:00.360 --> 00:13:00.960 the true. 251 00:13:00.919 --> 00:13:03.720 Edge of our Solar system's influence exactly. 252 00:13:03.960 --> 00:13:06.320 The sources point out that we have a general idea 253 00:13:06.399 --> 00:13:09.200 of the heliosphere's shape, kind of like a comet, maybe 254 00:13:09.440 --> 00:13:12.000 with a nose facing into the interstellar wind and a 255 00:13:12.039 --> 00:13:15.840 long tail trailing behind, but the actual physics happening at 256 00:13:15.840 --> 00:13:18.240 that boundary it's still pretty poorly understood. 257 00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:21.200 We're talking about the heliopause right where the outward push 258 00:13:21.200 --> 00:13:24.000 of the solar wind finally balances out against the inward 259 00:13:24.039 --> 00:13:25.360 pressure from interstellar space. 260 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:29.679 Precisely that boundary. IMAP aims to provide the first really 261 00:13:29.720 --> 00:13:34.840 comprehensive wide area maps of this complex interaction zone that 262 00:13:34.879 --> 00:13:37.240 will help us figure out the true shape, the size, 263 00:13:37.320 --> 00:13:40.440 maybe even how stiff or squishy our shield is against 264 00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:44.320 that external pressure. Understanding that boundary is fundamental to knowing 265 00:13:44.399 --> 00:13:46.879 our place in the galaxy because it controls how much 266 00:13:46.919 --> 00:13:50.000 of that interstellar material actually gets inside our solar system. 267 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:52.799 Speaking of stuff getting in, I think we read that 268 00:13:52.840 --> 00:13:56.679 IMAPP also has a kind of secondary measurement target, something 269 00:13:56.720 --> 00:13:59.759 maybe less dramatic than a solar storm, but still important. 270 00:14:00.120 --> 00:14:00.919 Cosmic dust. 271 00:14:01.320 --> 00:14:04.960 Yes, that's another piece of the puzzle. Cosmic dust, especially 272 00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:08.200 dust originating from outside the solar system, carries clues about 273 00:14:08.200 --> 00:14:11.639 the composition of the local interstellar neighborhood we're currently flying through. 274 00:14:12.679 --> 00:14:16.720 Impar will measure these fine particles, analyze their speed, direction, 275 00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:19.879 maybe even their chemistry. It's another way to sample the 276 00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:23.200 galactic environment, one that isn't affected by magnetic fields in 277 00:14:23.240 --> 00:14:24.840 the same way charged particles are. 278 00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:27.639 And we absolutely have to mention the scale of this. 279 00:14:27.799 --> 00:14:32.559 Undertaking a mission this ambitious doesn't happen in isolation. 280 00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:35.919 No way. It requires a massive collaboration. The projects led 281 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:39.159 by Professor David McCamus at Princeton managed by JOHNS. Hopkins 282 00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:42.519 Applied Physics Lab, but the full team involves something like 283 00:14:42.600 --> 00:14:47.720 eighty two partners universities, research institutions, industries from all over. 284 00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:50.720 It really shows that pushing the frontiers of science like 285 00:14:50.759 --> 00:14:54.440 this takes a huge coordinated effort from the global scientific community. 286 00:14:54.639 --> 00:14:58.320 That collaborative spirit and the drive for genuine discovery seems 287 00:14:58.360 --> 00:15:01.519 perfectly captured in something dot com. Mathias apparently tells his 288 00:15:01.559 --> 00:15:02.919 students about this kind of work. 289 00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:06.039 Yeah, it's a great quote. His advice was essentially, don't 290 00:15:06.080 --> 00:15:08.399 just look over your shoulder, try to do something nobody 291 00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:10.679 else has done before, and that really sums up the 292 00:15:10.679 --> 00:15:13.039 whole ethos of IMAP. They're not just trying to tweak 293 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:16.000 existing models. They're aiming to gather the data that forces 294 00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:19.799 us to create completely new ones, especially about how plasma 295 00:15:19.840 --> 00:15:21.600 behaves on these vast scales. 296 00:15:21.720 --> 00:15:25.240 Now, the scientific payoff from IMAP gets even bigger because, 297 00:15:25.320 --> 00:15:27.399 as you mentioned, it's not flying solo out there at 298 00:15:27.480 --> 00:15:29.480 L one. This is where we need to talk about 299 00:15:29.480 --> 00:15:32.159 the L One constellation. It sounds like a high tech 300 00:15:32.240 --> 00:15:36.240 fleet creating a truly revolutionary way to measure space. 301 00:15:36.519 --> 00:15:40.559 It's a really clever strategy leveraging the launch opportunity. Riding 302 00:15:40.600 --> 00:15:43.279 along with IMAP are two other important missions they create 303 00:15:43.320 --> 00:15:47.919 instant synergy. The first one is the Corruther's Geocorna Observatory. 304 00:15:48.480 --> 00:15:52.039 Its focus is actually looking back towards Earth, studying changes 305 00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:55.960 in our planet's outermost atmosphere, the exosphere, okay. 306 00:15:55.639 --> 00:15:59.399 Looking inward. And the second one looks outward right NAA's 307 00:15:59.519 --> 00:16:03.200 space whether follow on L one spacecraft. This ties right 308 00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:05.559 back to that practical safety warning system we discussed. 309 00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:09.360 It absolutely does. The NOAA mission is purpose built for 310 00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:14.559 operational space weather forecasting. It measures those key indicators solar 311 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:17.720 wind speed and density thermal plasma at the magnetic field, 312 00:16:18.279 --> 00:16:22.200 and it's specifically designed to detect those potentially hazardous chronal 313 00:16:22.200 --> 00:16:23.440 mass ejections heading our way. 314 00:16:23.639 --> 00:16:26.000 So i AM blanches with these two companions and they 315 00:16:26.039 --> 00:16:29.320 immediately join the existing spacecraft already working in that L 316 00:16:29.320 --> 00:16:30.039 one neighborhood. 317 00:16:30.120 --> 00:16:33.960 That's the key. The documents mentioned spacecraft like ACE Wind, 318 00:16:34.039 --> 00:16:37.919 Discover MMS, even India's ADITYA L one mission is there now. 319 00:16:38.360 --> 00:16:40.759 So when i AM and it's ride shares arrive, you'll 320 00:16:40.799 --> 00:16:44.440 have at least six spacecraft operating simultaneously in this crucial 321 00:16:44.480 --> 00:16:47.639 sun facing location. And that is what unlocks the potential 322 00:16:47.639 --> 00:16:51.399 to well rewrite those textbooks, especially concerning plasma physics. 323 00:16:51.440 --> 00:16:53.440 Okay, let's spend some real time on this because this 324 00:16:53.519 --> 00:16:56.480 gets into the deep physics that doctor Matthias is particularly 325 00:16:56.480 --> 00:17:00.480 interested in. Three D plasma dynamics. You said it that 326 00:17:00.519 --> 00:17:02.960 with just one or two space craft you can really 327 00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:06.519 measure things in three dimensions properly. Why is having simultaneous 328 00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:08.559 measurements from multiple points to break through? 329 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:13.000 Right, This tackles a fundamental problem in observing dynamic systems. 330 00:17:13.319 --> 00:17:16.880 It's often called the space time ambiguity. Imagine you're trying 331 00:17:16.920 --> 00:17:19.960 to understand weather patterns, but you only have one thermometer 332 00:17:20.119 --> 00:17:24.000 at one fixed location. Okay, if that thermometer registers a 333 00:17:24.039 --> 00:17:27.440 sudden drop in temperature, you don't know why. Is because 334 00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:30.680 a large cold front moved over your location, a change 335 00:17:30.680 --> 00:17:33.279 happening over time, or did your thermometer just happen to 336 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:35.960 drift into a small pre existing pocket of cold air 337 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:39.799 a change due to moving through space. With just one point, 338 00:17:40.039 --> 00:17:43.400 you can't easily distinguish between changes happening everywhere over time 339 00:17:43.480 --> 00:17:46.960 versus changes due to moving through a structured environment. Space 340 00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:48.039 and time get mixed up. 341 00:17:48.200 --> 00:17:51.519 Ah, I see. So without multiple viewpoints, you can't build 342 00:17:51.559 --> 00:17:55.039 a true three D picture of the structure of say 343 00:17:55.359 --> 00:17:57.839 a solar windstream or a magnetic cloud as it goes by. 344 00:17:58.039 --> 00:17:59.680 You can't tell if a change you measure is the 345 00:17:59.720 --> 00:18:02.160 whole evolving or just you flying through one part of 346 00:18:02.200 --> 00:18:03.000 it precisely. 347 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:07.119 And this multipoint strategy having six or more space craft 348 00:18:07.119 --> 00:18:09.839 spread out over a region at l one forming a 349 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:13.160 kind of distributed sensor network. This is what doctor Matthays 350 00:18:13.240 --> 00:18:16.400 identified as his number one interest in the mission's potential. 351 00:18:17.200 --> 00:18:20.119 Once you have multiple measurement points separated in space, you 352 00:18:20.160 --> 00:18:23.079 can start to untangle those space and time variations. You 353 00:18:23.119 --> 00:18:26.160 go from that single thermometer snapshot to having a grid 354 00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:29.000 of sensors allowing you to build up a dynamic three 355 00:18:29.119 --> 00:18:31.680 D map of the solar wind conditions in real time. 356 00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:34.759 That sounds incredibly powerful. So what is that separation, that 357 00:18:34.839 --> 00:18:37.799 genuine three D insight let the mirror that was impossible before. 358 00:18:38.039 --> 00:18:41.440 What specific physics is Mathia's hunting for. With this constellation, 359 00:18:41.720 --> 00:18:42.519 it opens. 360 00:18:42.200 --> 00:18:46.200 The door to measuring complex dynamic processes with much higher fidelity, 361 00:18:46.960 --> 00:18:50.480 especially things related to turbulence and how energy flows through 362 00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:53.920 the plasma. For instance, they can finally get direct measurements 363 00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:56.920 of the decay rate of turbulence, how quickly those energetic 364 00:18:57.000 --> 00:19:00.480 eddies dissipate their energy into heat. They can measure the 365 00:19:00.519 --> 00:19:03.279 actual heating rate of the plasma due to that turculence. 366 00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:06.559 Before these were largely things you had to infer or 367 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:10.079 estimate from theoretical models. Now, with multiple points, you can 368 00:19:10.119 --> 00:19:13.000 measure the gradients, the flows, the structures in three D 369 00:19:13.400 --> 00:19:15.599 and calculate these rates directly from the data. 370 00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:17.839 Wow, so it really is like going from a single 371 00:19:17.880 --> 00:19:21.359 blurry photograph to a high definition three D movie of 372 00:19:21.400 --> 00:19:22.599 what the solar wind is doing. 373 00:19:23.160 --> 00:19:25.759 That's a fantastic analogy. That's exactly the goal, and that 374 00:19:25.880 --> 00:19:29.039 kind of detailed three D understanding is crucial if you 375 00:19:29.079 --> 00:19:32.480 want to accurately predict the impact of major space weather 376 00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:35.319 events hitting Earth. You can map their internal structure, see 377 00:19:35.319 --> 00:19:38.400 how they're evolving as they approach, and forecast their effects 378 00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:41.359 with much greater confidence because you're not just guessing about 379 00:19:41.359 --> 00:19:43.559 their three D shape and internal dynamics anymore. 380 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:46.799 Okay, let's shift focus now from looking the stuff flowing 381 00:19:46.839 --> 00:19:49.279 past us to looking much further out. We need to 382 00:19:49.279 --> 00:19:53.079 talk about one of iomap's really unique capabilities, capturing these 383 00:19:53.119 --> 00:19:58.279 special particles called energetic neutral atoms or ENA's. This is 384 00:19:58.319 --> 00:20:00.559 how the mission plans to map the actual boundary of 385 00:20:00.599 --> 00:20:01.519 the heliosphere. Right. 386 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:05.640 Yes, this is a truly remarkable technique and a cornerstone 387 00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:09.240 of the im emission concept. It's quite specialized. Three of 388 00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:13.119 the ten science instruments on board IMAP are dedicated specifically 389 00:20:13.240 --> 00:20:15.640 to detecting and imaging these DNAs. 390 00:20:15.920 --> 00:20:18.480 And why is capturing neutral atoms. The key here, what's 391 00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:21.279 the neutral advantage When you're trying to peer into the 392 00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:22.319 distant heliosphere. 393 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:24.200 It all comes down to those magnetic fields. 394 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:24.519 Again. 395 00:20:24.640 --> 00:20:27.920 Almost everything else i'mat measures directly the solar wind, protons, 396 00:20:27.960 --> 00:20:31.480 the electrons, the bulk plasma carries an electric charge, and 397 00:20:31.599 --> 00:20:34.799 charged particles, as we've said, get pushed around by magnetic fields. 398 00:20:34.839 --> 00:20:37.759 They feel the force they follow, the field lines spiral 399 00:20:37.799 --> 00:20:39.640 around them, get deflected by turbulence. 400 00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:43.799 Right, So, if a charged particle starts way out at 401 00:20:43.799 --> 00:20:45.799