Abstract The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration (IMAP) mission probes the interaction between our heliosphere and the interstellar medium (ISM) in unprecedented detail. The broad science that IMAP addresses has been organized into three distinct science themes: A) Acceleration and the broader context of the solar wind and space weather; B) Exploring the outer heliosphere through energetic neutral atoms, and C) Sampling of the interstellar and interplanetary material. This paper summarizes the scientific goals of the latter theme and identifies the key scientific opportunities for IMAP available due to its unique ability to directly sample the interstellar and interplanetary material from 1 au. It is organized into three broad scientific questions that directly relate to IMAP’s science objectives: 1) What is the state of the pristine upstream LISM and how does it relate to its origins and evolution? 2) How does the VLISM interact with the heliosphere? 3) How does interstellar material, as well as interplanetary dust, affect the near-Sun environment?
Szalay et al. (2026) studied this question.
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