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What is the purpose of the New Horizons mission?
New Horizons is a NASA mission to study the dwarf planet Pluto, its moons, and other objects in the Kuiper Belt, a region of the solar system that extends from about 30 AU, near the orbit of Neptune, to about 50 AU from the Sun.
What did New Horizons explore?
Highlights. NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft made the first Pluto flyby in 2015. In 2019 the spacecraft visited another Kuiper belt world, Arrakoth, before continuing on into the outer reaches of our solar system. The Planetary Society and its members pushed for years to get a Pluto mission on the launch pad.
What is New Horizons doing now?
Currently exploring the Kuiper Belt beyond Pluto, New Horizons is just one of five spacecraft to reach 50 astronomical units – 50 times the distance between the Sun and Earth – on its way out of the solar system and, eventually, into interstellar space.
Did New Horizons explore Jupiter?
After a brief encounter with asteroid 132524 APL, New Horizons proceeded to Jupiter, making its closest approach on February 28, 2007, at a distance of 2.3 million kilometers (1.4 million miles)….New Horizons.
| Spacecraft properties | |
|---|---|
| Flyby of 486958 Arrokoth | |
| Closest approach | January 1, 2019, 05:33:00 UTC |
| Distance | 3,500 km (2,200 mi) |
What powers does New Horizons spacecraft have?
radioisotope thermoelectric generator
Electrical power for the New Horizons mission to Pluto is furnished by a single radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG), which transforms the heat from the natural radioactive decay of plutonium dioxide into electricity.
Will the New Horizons spacecraft return to Earth?
Following the flyby of Arrokoth, New Horizons is scheduled to continue studying the Kuiper Belt through at least 2021, the limit of its currently funded extended mission. The team expects It will take more than 20 months, through 2020, to return all the Arrokoth flyby data to Earth.
What did New Horizons find at Pluto?
New Horizons observed a large, young, heart-shaped region of ice on Pluto and found mountains made of water ice that may float on top of nitrogen ice. It discovered large chasms on Charon and found that its north pole was covered with reddish material that had escaped from Pluto’s atmosphere.
What is New Horizons and why is it important?
New Horizons is designed to help us understand worlds at the edge of our solar system by making the first reconnaissance of Pluto and Charon – a “double planet” (and their four small moons) and the last of the nine traditional planets to be visited by spacecraft.
What is the New Horizons mission to Pluto?
In Depth: New Horizons. New Horizons is a NASA mission to study the dwarf planet Pluto, its moons, and other objects in the Kuiper Belt, a region of the solar system that extends from about 30 AU, near the orbit of Neptune, to about 50 AU from the Sun.
Where did new horizons go on its first mission?
New Horizons was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on January 19, 2006, and flew past Jupiter on February 28, 2007, for a gravitational boost on its long journey. During the flyby the spacecraft made observations of Jupiter and its moons and ring system.
What can we learn from New Horizons’ space photos?
From New Horizons’ relatively dust-free vantage point, there’s one less component that astronomers have to subtract. The New Horizons images were of deep space but still contained a few galactic stars and background galaxies.