New Horizons is in an unexplored, distant region of the Kuiper Belt, more than 50 times farther from the Sun than Earth, speeding along at some 300 million miles (or roughly 500 million kilometers) a year – a pace that would cover the distance between Earth and the Sun in about four months.

In its second extended mission, New Horizons traverses the space some 54 to 75 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun, observing and analyzing objects ranging from nanometer-sized dust particles to dwarf planets and larger worlds, while incorporating heliophysics and astrophysics investigations that can be made only from the spacecraft’s unique position in the outer heliosphere.