New Horizons NASA's Mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt
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Bennu & MU69
Kuiper Belt Object Encounter
Artist's impression of the New Horizons spacecraft encountering a Kuiper Belt Object, as part of a potential extended mission after the Pluto flyby. In 2014, using the Hubble Space Telescope, New Horizons science team members discovered three KBOs - all in the range of 20-55 kilometers across, and all with possible flyby dates in late 2018 or in 2019 - a billion miles beyond Pluto. Any extended mission would require NASA approval.
Credit: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute (JHUAPL/SwRI)
Pluto Encounter Panoramic View
Artist's concept of the New Horizons spacecraft during its planned encounter with Pluto and its moon, Charon. The craft's miniature cameras, radio science experiment, ultraviolet and infrared spectrometers and space plasma experiments would characterize the global geology and geomorphology of Pluto and Charon, map their surface compositions and temperatures, and examine Pluto's atmosphere in detail. The spacecraft's most prominent design feature is a nearly 7-foot (2.1-meter) dish antenna, through which it would communicate with Earth from as far as 4.7 billion miles (7.5 billion kilometers) away.
New Horizons: Kuiper Belt Object
Artist's impression of the New Horizons spacecraft encountering a Kuiper Belt object. The Sun, more than 4.1 billion miles (6.7 billion kilometers) away, shines as a bright star embedded in the glow of the zodiacal dust cloud. Jupiter and Neptune are visible as orange and blue "stars" to the right of the Sun. Although you would not actually see the myriad other objects that make up the Kuiper Belt because they are so far apart, they are shown here to give the impression of an extensive disk of icy worlds beyond Neptune.
New Horizons over Pluto
Artist's concept of the New Horizons spacecraft encountering Pluto and its largest moon, Charon (foreground) in July 2015. The craft's miniature cameras, radio science experiment, ultraviolet and infrared spectrometers and space plasma experiments will characterize the global geology and geomorphology of Pluto and Charon, map their surface compositions and temperatures, and examine Pluto's atmosphere in detail.
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Steve Gribben/Alex Parker
New Horizons at Pluto
Artist's concept of the New Horizons spacecraft encountering Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, in July 2015. The craft's miniature cameras, radio science experiment, ultraviolet and infrared spectrometers and space plasma experiments will characterize the global geology and geomorphology of Pluto and Charon, map their surface compositions and temperatures, and examine Pluto's atmosphere in detail.
New Horizons at Pluto/Charon
New Horizons spacecraft as it approaches Pluto...
Artist's concept of the New Horizons spacecraft as it approaches Pluto and its three moons in summer 2015. The craft's miniature cameras, radio science experiment, ultraviolet and infrared spectrometers and space plasma experiments would characterize the global geology and geomorphology of Pluto and large moon Charon, map their surface compositions and temperatures, and examine Pluto's atmosphere in detail. The spacecraft's most prominent design feature is a nearly 7-foot (2.1-meter) dish antenna, through which it will communicate with Earth from as far as 4.7 billion miles (7.5 billion kilometers) away.
Jupiter Flyby
Although the main mission of New Horizons is to explore the Pluto system and the Kuiper Belt of icy, rocky objects, the spacecraft will first fly by the solar system's largest planet, Jupiter, early 2007 - just a little over a year after launch. In this artist's rendering, New Horizons soars past Jupiter as the volcanic moon Io passes between the spacecraft and planet.
New Horizons Approaches Pluto
Artist's concept of the New Horizons spacecraft as it approaches Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, in July 2015. The craft's miniature cameras, radio science experiment, ultraviolet and infrared spectrometers and space plasma experiments will characterize the global geology and geomorphology of Pluto and Charon, map their surface compositions and temperatures, and examine Pluto's atmosphere in detail. The spacecraft's most prominent design feature is a nearly 7-foot (2.1-meter) dish antenna, through which it will communicate with Earth from as far as 4.7 billion miles (7.5 billion kilometers) away.
Beyond Pluto Backdrop #1
8'x10'
Beyond Pluto Backdrop #2
Beyond Pluto Backdrop #3
Beyond Pluto Banner Sign Artwork #1
6'x2.5'
Beyond Pluto Banner Sign Artwork #2
Beyond Pluto Banner Sign Artwork #3
Beyond Pluto Banner Sign Artwork #4
Beyond Pluto Banner Sign Artwork #5
General Mission Banner Sign Artwork
I "HEART" Pluto Backdrop Artwork
KBO January 1, 2019 Artwork
Pluto Explored Backdrop Artwork
Postcard from Pluto Backdrop Artwork
Multi-Faceted Kuiper Belt Exploration
New Horizons is Far Out! Long-Distance Communication
About the Kuiper Belt
Arrokoth Flyby
It Takes a Team
Kuiper Belt and the Third Zone
Long Road to Pluto
New Horizons Is Fast
Pluto Family Yearbook
Pluto Is Really Cold
Pluto's Known Moons
Pluto/New Horizons by the Numbers
Shipping a Science Lab to Pluto
Talking to New Horizons
The Pluto Encounter
What New Horizons Will Teach Us
KBO Iconic Poster
36" x 50" Poster
Epic Movie Poster (2014)
First Mission to the Last Planet
15"x6.5" Poster
Mission Details
30"x24" Poster
Mission Poster
34"x14" Poster
Mission Timeline
40"x24" Poster
New Horizons at Pluto/Charon (panorama)
24"x10.5" Poster
Pluto-Charon Awaits!
Spacecraft and Payload
15"x10" Poster
Arrokoth Flyby Postcard
Two Sided Postcard
Kuiper Belt Extended Mission Decal
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft reached Pluto and its moons in July 2015, revolutionizing our understanding of these mysterious worlds on the outer edge of our solar system. On New Year's Day 2019, a billion miles beyond Pluto, New Horizons will fly past a small, frozen Kuiper Belt object named 2014 MU69 - the most distant object ever explored by a spacecraft.
NASA, the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) lead the New Horizons mission in collaboration with additional government, university and industry partners.
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Dan Durda
Letter Handout
Legal Handout
Into the Kuiper Belt
Mission Postcards
Tabloid Handout (11 x 17 inches)
New Horizons at Jupiter
Post Pluto Flyby Mission Sticker
Valentine's Day Card