Exploring the boundaries of our heliosphere: The interstellar boundary explorer (IBEX) and solar probe

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper briefly highlights two exciting new space missions - the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) and Solar Probe. Between these two, mankind will be able to understand the critical physical processes at the outermost and innermost boundaries of our heliosphere for the first time. IBEX will launch in the summer of 2008 to make energy-resolved images of energetic neutral atoms emanating from the inner heliosheath, beyond the termination shock, and enable detailed analysis of the global interaction of the heliosphere with the local interstellar medium. At the inner boundary, Solar Probe has been proposed to fly within 3 solar radii of the Sun's surface, to provide the first in situ, observations down in the solar corona. While very different missions, IBEX and Solar Probe each enable revolutionary scientific discovery at one of the two remaining unexplored boundaries of our heliosphere.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationFuture Perspectives of Space Plasma and Particle Instrumentation and International Collaborations - Proceedings of the International Conference
Pages223-227
Number of pages5
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009
Externally publishedYes
EventInternational Conference on Future Perspectives of Space Plasma and Particle Instrumentation and International Collaborations - Tokyo, Japan
Duration: Nov 1 2006Nov 3 2006

Publication series

NameAIP Conference Proceedings
Volume1144
ISSN (Print)0094-243X
ISSN (Electronic)1551-7616

Conference

ConferenceInternational Conference on Future Perspectives of Space Plasma and Particle Instrumentation and International Collaborations
Country/TerritoryJapan
CityTokyo
Period11/1/0611/3/06

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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