IBEX Discoveries of the Global Heliosphere from Energetic Neutral Atoms and Preparations for IMAP

Abstract:

Our piece of cosmic real-estate, the heliosphere, is the domain of all human existence -- an astrophysical case-history of the successful evolution of life in a habitable system. By exploring our global heliosphere and its myriad interactions, we develop key physical knowledge of the interstellar interactions that influence exoplanetary habitability as well the history and destiny of our solar system. IBEX was the first mission to explore the global heliosphere and in concert with Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 is discovering a fundamentally new and uncharted physical domain of the outer heliosphere. In parallel, Cassini/INCA maps the global heliosphere at energies (~5-55 KeV) above those measured by IBEX. The enigmatic IBEX ribbon and the INCA belt were unanticipated discoveries demonstrating that much of what we know or think we understand about the outer heliosphere needs to be revised. Remarkably, the combination of observations of the ribbon, the belt and the globally distributed flux have provided a picture not only of the global heliosphere, but also the interstellar magnetic field, which has a strength and direction that can be directly compared to Voyager 1 observations. Currently, unraveling the interstellar magnetic field and its influences on the flows and structure of the heliosheath is an area of remarkably rapid discovery. The next quantum leap enabled by IMAP will open new windows on the frontier of Heliophysics at a time when the space environment is rapidly evolving. IMAP, like ACE before it, will be a keystone of the Heliophysics System Observatory. IMAP with 100 times the combined resolution and sensitivity of IBEX and INCA will discover the substructure of the IBEX ribbon and will reveal in unprecedented resolution global maps of our heliosphere. The remarkable synergy between IMAP, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 will remain for at least the next decade as Voyager1 pushes further into the interstellar domain and Voyager 2 moves through the heliosheath.