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New Horizons
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New Horizons
New Horizons Mission to Jupiter New Horizons Mission to Dwarf Planets New Horizons Mission to Kuiper Belt & Oort Cloud

Goals: NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is designed to make the first close-up study of Pluto and its moons and other icy worlds in the distant Kuiper Belt. The spacecraft has seven scientific instruments to study the atmospheres, surfaces, interiors and intriguing environments of Pluto and its distant neighbors.

Accomplishments: The spacecraft is still en route to its primary science target.
   

Key Dates
19 Jan 2006:  Launch
28 Feb 2007:  Jupiter Flyby
Jul 2015:  Pluto Closest Approach
2026:  End of Dwarf Planets Mission
Status: In Flight
Show All Dates for New Horizons Show All Key Dates for New Horizons
Fast Facts
New Horizons Facts New Horizons is the first mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt.

After traveling some 5 billion kilometers (3 billion miles), New Horizons must thread a celestial needle and fly through a circle only 300 kilometers (about 186 miles) in diameter to accomplish its science objectives.

New Horizons carries the first instrument to be designed, built and flown by students on an interplanetary spacecraft -- Venetia, a dust counter named for the girl who named Pluto (above).
Science & Technology Features
6 Feb 2013: 
State of the Solar System
17 Feb 2012: 
Radioisotope Power Systems: Power to Explore
16 Dec 2011: 
50 Years of Robotic Planetary Exploration: Amy Simon-Miller (Astrophysicist at the Goddard Space Flight Center)
People Spotlight
Bonnie Buratti Bonnie Buratti
"The most important thing about being a scientist is that you are always on the forefront of knowledge, discovering new things." Read More...
Alan Stern - Principal Investigator, New Horizons
Rosaly Lopes - Planetary Scientist
Hal Levison - Scientist
Gerard Kuiper - (1905 - 1973)
Astronomer
Meet More Space Explorers Meet More Space Explorers
Headlines
20 May 2013: 
The PI's Perspective: Encounter Planning Accelerates
23 Jan 2013: 
The PI's Perspective: The Seven-Year Itch
10 Jan 2013: 
New Horizons Gets a New Year's Workout
More Headlines More Headlines
Links
Solar System Bodies: Kuiper Belt & Oort Cloud
Images of New Horizons
Images Taken by New Horizons
New Horizons Website
Power to Explore: Radioisotope Power
New Frontiers Program website
NSSDC Master Catalog: New Horizons
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NASA Official: Kristen Erickson
Advisory: Dr. James Green, Director of Planetary Science
Outreach Manager: Alice Wessen
Curator/Editor: Phil Davis
Science Writers: Samantha Harvey & Autumn Burdick
Producer: Greg Baerg
Webmaster: David Martin
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Last Updated: 18 Apr 2012