New horizons
New Horizons!
New Horizons is a NASA spacecraft that was launched in 2006 and flew by Pluto in 2015, providing the first close-up images and data about the dwarf planet. The spacecraft was designed to study the Kuiper Belt, a region of icy bodies and other small celestial objects beyond Neptune's orbit.
Here are some interesting facts about New Horizons:
- First Pluto flyby: On July 14, 2015, New Horizons flew within 7,800 miles (12,500 kilometers) of Pluto's surface, providing stunning images and valuable scientific data about the dwarf planet.
- Kuiper Belt explorer: New Horizons is the first spacecraft to explore the Kuiper Belt, a region that contains many small, icy bodies and other celestial objects.
- Fastest spacecraft: New Horizons is the fastest spacecraft ever built, with a top speed of about 36,000 miles per hour (58,000 kilometers per hour).
- Longest journey: New Horizons traveled about 3.2 billion miles (5.1 billion kilometers) to reach Pluto, making it the longest journey to a celestial body in history.
- Scientific discoveries: New Horizons has made several significant scientific discoveries, including the detection of a possible subsurface ocean on Pluto and the discovery of a new moon orbiting Pluto.
- Next target: After its flyby of Pluto, New Horizons continued on its journey into the Kuiper Belt, where it encountered a small, icy body called Ultima Thule (also known as 2014 MU69) in January 2019.
- Extended mission: New Horizons has been granted an extended mission, which will take it deeper into the Kuiper Belt to study more small, icy bodies and celestial objects.
New Horizons has greatly expanded our understanding of the outer reaches of our solar system and has provided a wealth of new information about the formation and evolution of our solar system.