The
Star-27 kick motor and nozzle for NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer
spacecraft sit innocuously at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
The
new spacecraft, also known as IBEX, is slated to undertake the first mission
designed to detect the edge of our solar system. Solar wind from the sun flows
outward beyond Pluto's orbit and eventually collides with interstellar material,
creating a shock front called termination shock. IBEX will not only detect
particles at the boundary between the solar system and beyond, but also study
galactic cosmic rays from other galaxies which might threaten the health of astronauts beyond Earth orbit.
Both
the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft launched in the 1970s have already crossed
the termination shock, giving scientists a peek at what they might expect
to find with IBEX. The latter's mission is scheduled for launch on October 5.
— NASA and SPACE.com Staff
Credit: NASA/VAFB
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