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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:
- Fastest spacecraft ever: New Horizons is the fastest spacecraft ever built, reaching speeds of up to 36,000 miles per hour (58,000 kilometers per hour).
- Longest journey: The spacecraft traveled over 3.2 billion miles (5.1 billion kilometers) to reach Pluto, taking about 9.5 years to complete the journey.
- First close-up images of Pluto: New Horizons provided the first close-up images of Pluto, revealing a diverse and complex geology, including mountains, valleys, and even evidence of recent geological activity.
- Kuiper Belt exploration: After flying by Pluto, New Horizons continued its journey into the Kuiper Belt, studying other small celestial bodies and providing insights into the formation and evolution of our solar system.
- Arrokoth flyby: In 2019, New Horizons flew by a small, icy body called Arrokoth (previously known as Ultima Thule), providing the first close-up images of a contact binary, a type of celestial object formed by the merger of two smaller bodies.
New Horizons has greatly expanded our understanding of the outer reaches of our solar system and has paved the way for future missions to explore the Kuiper Belt and beyond.