9 years and 3 billion miles after launching, NASA's 'New Horizons' space craft has awoken for the final time yesterday in preparation for its flyby of the Pluto system.
Its primary mission is the study of Pluto and its many moons. With 4 cameras (including infrared and ultraviolet), 2 mass spectrometers and a dust detector New Horizons should give us a treasure trove of information.
New Horizons will begin imaging on January 15th, by mid May we will have better images of the system than Hubble can provide, closest approach will happen on July 14th where New Horizons will pass within 7700 miles of Plutos surface.
This is the best image we have of Pluto and its moon Charon, taken by Hubble.
Its primary mission is the study of Pluto and its many moons. With 4 cameras (including infrared and ultraviolet), 2 mass spectrometers and a dust detector New Horizons should give us a treasure trove of information.
New Horizons will begin imaging on January 15th, by mid May we will have better images of the system than Hubble can provide, closest approach will happen on July 14th where New Horizons will pass within 7700 miles of Plutos surface.
This is the best image we have of Pluto and its moon Charon, taken by Hubble.
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