Pluto

The path through the solar system is a rocky road. Asteroids, comets, Kuiper Belt Objects—all kinds of small bodies of rock, metal and ice are in constant motion as they orbit the Sun. But what’s the difference between them? Why do these miniature worlds fascinate space explorers so much?

Marking the anniversary of New Horizons' historic flight through the Pluto system on July 14, 2015, mission scientists have released the most accurate natural color images of Pluto and Charon.

In July 2015, we saw Pluto up close for the first time and—after three years of intense study—the surprises keep coming. “It’s clear,” says Jeffery Moore, New Horizons’ geology team lead, “Pluto is one of the most amazing and complex objects in our solar system.”

Newly discovered dunes on Pluto tell us the dwarf planet’s geology and atmosphere is far more dynamic than previously expected.

Legendary explorers and visionaries, real and fictitious, are among those immortalized in the first set of official surface-feature names for Pluto's largest moon, Charon.

Observations of Ceres have detected recent variations in its surface, revealing that the only dwarf planet in the inner solar system is a dynamic body that continues to evolve and change.

Whether you're doing it for the nerd cred or the pie, this week on #10Things, we've got all the ways you can celebrate #PiDay with NASA.

Inspiring views of our solar system and beyond.

In this episode of Gravity Assist, Jim Green talks with New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern about what the July 2015 flyby of Pluto revealed about this mysterious and diverse world. ​

Several solar system exploration missions routinely publish raw, unprocessed images taken by cameras aboard robotic spacecraft. Unlike most pictures that appear on NASA web sites, these images are not validated or calibrated, and often lack captions and other information to provide context.

Even the most ambitious plans start with a drawing. Visualizing a distant destination or an ambitious dream is the first step to getting there.

The exploration of the solar system is uniquely poised to bring planetary scientists, worldwide, together under the common theme of understanding the origin, evolution and bodies of our solar neighborhood.

Astrophysics Division assets have been used in the past to support planetary science research activities and planetary missions.

The solar system has a new most-distant family member.

Dr. Jim Green, director of NASA Planetary Science, speaks to attendees of the 2013 IAA Planetary Defense Conference in April 2013.

Juno, the second mission in NASA's New Frontiers Program, launched flawlessly on Friday, August 5th, on a journey to Jupiter.

NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

It took a little extra effort, but NASA this weekend bridged a nearly seven-and-a-half billion mile span to make contact with Pioneer 10, a plucky space probe that first left Earth's gravitational pull more than 30 years ago.

Pioneer-10 was successfully contacted today.

NASA scientists will try to contact Pioneer 10 this week to see if the plucky little spacecraft's signal can still be heard - 30 years after its launch.

Astronomers have known for many years that stars form when the cores of giant clouds of cold molecular material fragment and collapse.

When the three main engines of the Space Shuttle thunder to life during the launch of Discovery, their roar not only marks astronauts once again venturing into space but also trumpets a salute to the man whose vision made such a journey possible.

Astronomers from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the U.S. Naval Observatory have solved the ancient mystery of the origin of the Chinese calendar, it was reported to the 182nd meeting of the American Astronomical Society today in Berkeley, Calif.