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New Horizons spacecraft approaches dwarf planet Pluto and its moon Charon
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New Horizons spacecraft approaches dwarf planet Pluto and its moon Charon
NASAs New Horizons unmanned spacecraft approaches dwarf planet Pluto and its moon Charon. New Horizons has been en route to Pluto since its launch from Earth in 2006 and is scheduled to make its closest approach on July 14, 2015.
New Horizons is about the size and shape of a grand piano and weighed 1, 054 pounds at launch. The high-gain dish antenna is about 7 feet in diameter and is employed for communication with the Earth.
In this image the New Horizons spacecraft is about 15, 000 miles from Pluto (upper right), 27, 000 miles from its largest moon Charon (lower left) and 2.97 billion miles from the Earth. This side of the spacecraft on the left can be seen the Visible/Near Infrared Multi-Spectral Imager and the Short Wavelength Infrared Spectral Imager (aka Ralph), and the Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (aka Alice). On the right extending about four feet from the main body of the spacecraft is the radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) which provides constant electric power for the 10 year mission from heat produced by 24 pounds of plutonium-238.
While little is known about Plutos appearance, here this Kuiper belt dwarf planet is realized as a frozen world covered with various ices, hosting a thin atmosphere of nitrogen, methane and other hydrocarbons too possibly, with a significantly weathered surface as Plutos 248-year orbit alternately brings it closer then further from the warmth of the sun
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Media ID 13067635
© Walter Myers/Stocktrek Images
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This print captures the historic moment when NASA's New Horizons spacecraft approached the enigmatic dwarf planet Pluto and its moon Charon. After a remarkable journey that began in 2006, New Horizons is finally reaching its destination on July 14,2015. Resembling the size and shape of a grand piano, this compact spacecraft weighs over a thousand pounds. Its impressive seven-foot high-gain dish antenna enables seamless communication with Earth throughout its mission. In this image, taken from approximately 15,000 miles away from Pluto and 27,000 miles away from Charon, we can see some of New Horizons' advanced instruments protruding from its side. On the left side of the spacecraft are two powerful imagers known as Visible/Near Infrared Multi-Spectral Imager (VNIR) and Short Wavelength Infrared Spectral Imager (Ralph), along with an Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (Alice). On the right side extends a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG), which provides constant electric power for this decade-long mission using heat generated by plutonium-238. While Plutos appearance remains largely mysterious to us at this point in time, scientists speculate that it is a frozen world covered in various types of ice. It boasts a thin atmosphere composed mainly of nitrogen and methane alongside other hydrocarbons. As Pluto orbits around the sun every 248 years, it experiences significant weathering due to alternating periods of proximity to and distance from our star. This extraordinary photograph by Walter Myers allows us to marvel at humanity's quest for knowledge as we explore distant worlds beyond our own.
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