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La NASA invita a los medios al lanzamiento conjunto de misiones sobre el Sol y la meteorología espacial


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Técnicos trabajan en el cierre del observatorio IMAP (Sonda de Cartografía y Aceleración Interestelar) de la NASA en las instalaciones Astrotech Space Operations Facility, cerca del Centro Espacial Kennedy de la NASA en Florida, el viernes 15 de agosto de 2025. La misión IMAP explorará y cartografiará los límites de la heliosfera —una enorme burbuja creada por el viento solar que encapsula todo nuestro sistema solar— y estudiará cómo interactúa la heliosfera con el vecindario galáctico local más allá de ella.
Técnicos trabajan en el cierre del observatorio IMAP (Sonda de Cartografía y Aceleración Interestelar) de la NASA en las instalaciones Astrotech Space Operations Facility, cerca del Centro Espacial Kennedy de la NASA en Florida, el viernes 15 de agosto de 2025. La misión IMAP explorará y cartografiará los límites de la heliosfera —una enorme burbuja creada por el viento solar que encapsula todo nuestro sistema solar— y estudiará cómo interactúa la heliosfera con el vecindario galáctico local más allá de ella.
Crédito: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Read this release in English here.

La NASA ha abierto el plazo para la acreditación de los medios para el lanzamiento de tres observatorios que estudiarán el Sol y mejorarán nuestra capacidad de hacer pronósticos precisos de meteorología espacial, ayudando a proteger los sistemas tecnológicos que impactan la vida en la Tierra.

La NASA tiene previsto lanzar, no antes del martes 23 de septiembre, la sonda IMAP (por las siglas en inglés de Sonda de Cartografía y Aceleración Interestelar) de la agencia, el Observatorio Carruthers de la Geocorona y el observatorio Seguimiento de la Meteorología Espacial–Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1, por su acrónimo en inglés) de la Administración Nacional Oceánica y Atmosférica (NOAA, por sus siglas en inglés). Los observatorios se lanzarán a bordo de un cohete SpaceX Falcon 9 desde el Complejo de Lanzamiento 39A del Centro Espacial Kennedy de la NASA en Florida.

Los medios acreditados tendrán la oportunidad de participar en sesiones informativas previas al lanzamiento y entrevistas con miembros clave de la misión antes del lanzamiento, así como de cubrir el lanzamiento. La NASA comunicará más detalles sobre el calendario de eventos para los medios de comunicación a medida que se acerque la fecha del lanzamiento.

Las fechas límites de acreditación de medios para el lanzamiento son:

  • Los miembros de medios de comunicación sin ciudadanía estadounidense deben enviar su solicitud a más tardar a las 11:59 p.m. EDT del domingo, 31 de agosto.
  • Los miembros de medios de comunicación con ciudadanía estadounidense deben enviar su solicitud a más tardar a las 11:59 p.m. EDT del jueves, 4 de septiembre.

Todas las solicitudes de acreditación deben enviarse en línea en: 

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov

La política de acreditación de medios de la NASA está disponible en línea. Si tiene preguntas sobre el proceso de acreditación, por favor envíelas a: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. Para otras preguntas, por favor póngase en contacto con el centro de prensa del centro Kennedy de la NASA: +1 321-867-2468.

Para obtener información en español en sobre el Centro Espacial Kennedy, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo: 321-501-8425. Si desea solicitar entrevistas en español sobre IMAP, póngase en contacto con María-José Viñas: maria-jose.vinasgarcia@nasa.gov.  

La sonda IMAP de la NASA utilizará diez instrumentos científicos para estudiar y mapear la heliosfera, una vasta burbuja magnética que rodea al Sol y protege nuestro sistema solar de la radiación proveniente del espacio interestelar. Esta misión y sus dos compañeros de viaje orbitarán el Sol cerca del punto de Lagrange 1, a aproximadamente 1,6 millones de kilómetros (un millón de millas) de la Tierra, donde escaneará la heliosfera, analizará la composición de partículas cargadas e investigará cómo esas partículas se mueven a través del sistema solar. Esto proporcionará información sobre cómo el Sol acelera las partículas cargadas, aportando información esencial para comprender el entorno meteorológico espacial en todo el sistema solar. IMAP también monitoreará continuamente el viento solar y la radiación cósmica. La comunidad científica podrá usar estos datos para evaluar capacidades nuevas y mejoradas para herramientas y modelos de predicción de la meteorología espacial, que son vitales para la salud de los humanos que exploran el espacio y la longevidad de sistemas tecnológicos, como satélites y redes eléctricas, que pueden afectar la vida en la Tierra.

El Observatorio Carruthers de la Geocorona de la agencia es un pequeño satélite concebido para estudiar la exosfera, la parte más externa de la atmósfera de la Tierra. Utilizando cámaras ultravioletas, monitoreará cómo la meteorología espacial del Sol impacta la exosfera, la cual juega un papel crucial en la protección de la Tierra contra eventos de meteorología espacial que pueden afectar satélites, comunicaciones y líneas eléctricas. La exosfera, una nube de hidrógeno neutro que se extiende hasta la Luna y posiblemente más allá, se crea por la descomposición del agua y el metano por la luz ultravioleta del Sol, y su brillo, conocido como la geocorona, solo se ha observado a nivel mundial cuatro veces antes de esta misión.

La misión SWFO-L1, gestionada por la NOAA y desarrollada con el Centro de Vuelo Espacial Goddard de NASA en Greenbelt, Maryland, y socios comerciales, utilizará un conjunto de instrumentos para proporcionar mediciones en tiempo real del viento solar, junto con un coronógrafo compacto para detectar eyecciones de masa coronal del Sol. El observatorio, que sirve como baliza de alerta temprana para fenómenos meteorológicos espaciales potencialmente destructivos, permitirá pronósticos más rápidos y precisos. Sus datos, disponibles las 24 horas del día, los 7 días de la semana, ayudarán al Centro de Predicción Meteorológica Espacial de la NOAA a proteger infraestructuras vitales, intereses económicos y la seguridad nacional, tanto en la Tierra como en el espacio.

David McComas, profesor de la Universidad de Princeton, lidera la misión IMAP con un equipo internacional de 25 instituciones asociadas. El Laboratorio de Física Aplicada Johns Hopkins en Laurel, Maryland, construyó la nave espacial y opera la misión. IMAP de la NASA es la quinta misión en el portafolio del programa de Sondas Solares Terrestres de la NASA. La División de Exploradores y Proyectos de Heliofísica en el centro Goddard de la NASA gestiona el programa para la División de Heliofísica de la Dirección de Misiones Científicas de la NASA.

Para más detalles (en inglés) sobre la misión IMAP y actualizaciones sobre los preparativos de lanzamiento, visite: 

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/imap/

-fin-

Abbey Interrante / María José Viñas
Sede central de la NASA, Washington
301-201-0124
abbey.a.interrante@nasa.gov / maria-jose.vinasgarcia@nasa.gov

Sarah Frazier
Centro de Vuelo Espacial Goddard, Greenbelt, Md.
202-853-7191
sarah.frazier@nasa.gov

Leejay Lockhart
Centro Espacial Kennedy, Fla.
321-747-8310
leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov

John Jones-Bateman
Servicio de Satélites e Información de la NOAA, Silver Spring, Md.
202-242-0929
john.jones-bateman@noaa.gov

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      NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online. For questions about accreditation, please email: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. For other mission questions, please contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468.
      Para obtener información en español en sobre el Centro Espacial Kennedy, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo: 321-501-8425. Si desea solicitar entrevistas en español sobre IMAP, póngase en contacto con María-José Viñas: maria-jose.vinasgarcia@nasa.gov. 
      NASA’s IMAP will use 10 science instruments to study and map the heliosphere, a vast magnetic bubble surrounding the Sun protecting our solar system from radiation incoming from interstellar space. This mission and its two rideshares will orbit the Sun near Lagrange point 1, about one million miles from Earth, where it will scan the heliosphere, analyze the composition of charged particles, and investigate how those particles move through the solar system. This will provide information on how the Sun accelerates charged particles, filling in essential puzzle pieces to understand the space weather environment across the solar system. The IMAP spacecraft also will continuously monitor solar wind and cosmic radiation. Scientists can use this information to evaluate new and improved capabilities for space weather prediction tools and models, which are vital for the health of human space explorers and the longevity of technological systems, like satellites and power grids, that can affect life on Earth.
      The agency’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory is a small satellite set to study the exosphere, the outermost part of Earth’s atmosphere. Using ultraviolet cameras, it will monitor how space weather from the Sun impacts the exosphere, which plays a crucial role in protecting Earth from space weather events that can affect satellites, communications, and power lines. The exosphere, a cloud of neutral hydrogen extending to the Moon and possibly beyond, is created by the breakdown of water and methane by ultraviolet light from the Sun, and its glow, known as the geocorona, has been observed globally only four times before this mission.
      The SWFO-L1 mission, managed by NOAA and developed with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and commercial partners, will use a suite of instruments to provide real-time measurements of solar wind, along with a compact coronagraph to detect coronal mass ejections from the Sun. The observatory, serving as an early warning beacon for potentially destructive space weather events, will enable faster and more accurate forecasts. Its 24/7 data will support NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center in protecting vital infrastructure, economic interests, and national security, both on Earth and in space.
      David McComas, professor, Princeton University, leads the IMAP mission with an international team of 25 partner institutions. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, built the spacecraft and operates the mission. NASA’s IMAP is the fifth mission in NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Probes program portfolio. The Explorers and Heliophysics Project Division at NASA Goddard manages the program for the agency’s Heliophysics Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.
      NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at NASA Kennedy, manages the launch service for the mission.
      For more details about the IMAP mission and updates on launch preparations, visit:
      https://science.nasa.gov/mission/imap/
      -end-
      Abbey Interrante
      Headquarters, Washington
      301-201-0124
      abbey.a.interrante@nasa.gov
      Sarah Frazier
      Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
      202-853-7191
      sarah.frazier@nasa.gov
      Leejay Lockhart
      Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
      321-747-8310
      leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov
      John Jones-Bateman
      NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service, Silver Spring, Md.
      202-242-0929
      john.jones-bateman@noaa.gov
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      Last Updated Aug 21, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
      IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) Carruthers Geocorona Observatory (GLIDE) Goddard Space Flight Center Heliophysics Heliophysics Division Kennedy Space Center Launch Services Program Science & Research Science Mission Directorate Space Weather
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