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Official New Horizons patch

Space probes·NASA

New Horizons

ActiveLaunched in 2006·Kuiper — 59 AU, 8.9B km

The first spacecraft to fly past Pluto (2015) and then the Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth (2019). It continues through the Kuiper Belt.

Main objectives

Explore Pluto and the Kuiper Belt (Arrokoth).
Study dwarf planets and the origin of the outer solar system.
Measure the plasma and dust environment of the trans-Neptunian region.

Did you know?

Speed of 50,000 km/h: it left Earth faster than any spacecraft before it.

Timeline

Jan 19, 2006

Launch

Atlas V from Cape Canaveral.

Jul 14, 2015

Historic Pluto flyby

Jan 01, 2019

Arrokoth flyby

The most distant object ever visited.

Instruments

[05]

LORRI

Long-range telescopic imager for optical navigation and geologic imaging

Ralph

Visible/IR imager (MVIC + LEISA) for color, composition, and thermal maps

Alice

Ultraviolet imaging spectrometer analyzing atmospheric composition and structure

REX

Radio science experiment measuring atmospheric temperature and pressure via occultation

SWAP

Spectrometer measuring solar wind and Pluto's atmospheric escape rate

Specifications

Mass478 kg

Velocity~14 km/s

Current distance~60 AU

Discoveries

[04]

Mission milestones

[01]

Milestone
Start of the second extended mission (heliophysics)
New Horizons prioritizes heliophysics data collection in extended low-activity mode, while preserving fuel for a potential flyby of a new Kuiper Belt object. Operations extended until exit from the belt (expected 2028-2029).
Oct 01, 2024 ↗

Official sources

NASA New Horizons↗