Caption: 
Southwest Research Institute has been selected to manage the payload and payload systems engineering for a new NASA mission that will sample, analyze and map particles streaming to Earth from the edge of interstellar space. SwRI also will provide a scientific instrument and other technology for the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) spacecraft, scheduled to launch in 2024. IMAP will help researchers better understand the boundary of the heliosphere, a sort of magnetic bubble surrounding and protecting our solar system.

Credit: 
Image courtesy of NASA/GSFC