---
abstract: 'The Sun, driving a supersonic solar wind, cuts out of the local interstellar
  medium a giant plasma bubble, the heliosphere. ESA, jointly with NASA, has had an
  important role in the development of our current understanding of the Suns\textquoteright
  immediate neighborhood. Ulysses is the only spacecraft exploring the third, out-of-ecliptic
  dimension, while SOHO has allowed us to better understand the influence of the Sun
  and to image the glow of interstellar matter in the heliosphere. Voyager 1 has recently
  encountered the innermost boundary of this plasma bubble, the termination shock,
  and is returning exciting yet puzzling data of this remote region. The next logical
  step is to leave the heliosphere and to thereby map out in unprecedented detail
  the structure of the outer heliosphere and its boundaries, the termination shock,
  the heliosheath, the heliopause, and, after leaving the heliosphere, to discover
  the true nature of the hydrogen wall, the bow shock, and the local interstellar
  medium beyond. This will greatly advance our understanding of the heliosphere that
  is the best-known example for astrospheres as found around other stars. Thus, IHP/HEX
  will allow us to discover, explore, and understand fundamental astrophysical processes
  in the largest accessible plasma laboratory, the heliosphere.'
adsnote: Provided by the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System
adsurl: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009EM&P..104...17W
authors:
- Robert F. Wimmer-Schweingruber
- Ralph McNutt
category: publications
date: '2009-04-01'
doi: 10.1007/s11038-008-9249-8
draft: false
featured: false
journal: Earth Moon and Planets
month: April
number: 1-4
pages: 17-24
projects: []
publication: Earth Moon and Planets
publication_types:
- '2'
tags:
- Heliosphere
- Interstellar medium
- Interstellar probe
- Cosmic vision 2015-2025
- Termination shock
- Heliopause
title: 'The Interstellar Heliopause Probe: Heliospheric Boundary Explorer Mission
  to the Interstellar Medium'
type: ARTICLE
volume: '104'
year: '2009'
---