IBEX is the first spacecraft to map the entire region of the Solar System boundary. Mapping the current state of the outer edge of the heliosphereThe region around the Sun where the solar wind dominates over the interstellar medium., the heliopauseThe boundary between the Sun's solar wind and the interstellar medium., helps scientists to determine what this important protective boundary is like. The heliosphereThe region around the Sun where the solar wind dominates over the interstellar medium. is our home in the galaxyA huge assembly of stars (between one hundred and one million), plus gas and dust, which is held together by gravity; the Galaxy, our own galaxy, containing the Sun., and understanding how it protects us as we orbit the center of the Milky Way is important as we plan future space travel beyond Earth and think about the conditions surrounding our Solar System in the distant past and future.
