ZB ZB
Sport
Live now
Start time
Playing for
End time
Listen live
Listen to NAME OF STATION
Up next
Listen live on
ZB

PHOTOS: Everything you should know about New Horizons' Pluto mission

Loading...
  • 1/17
    Taken at a distance of 476,000 and received by the New Horizons team, this was the closest image we have of Pluto. In the coming days New Horizons will send even closer photos – some from as close as 7,750 miles away.
    1/17 Taken at a distance of 476,000 and received by the New Horizons team, this was the closest image we have of Pluto. In the coming days New Horizons will send even closer photos – some from as close as 7,750 miles away.
  • 2/17
    The most recent photo of Pluto, showing the rugged terrain on the rocky surface.
    2/17 The most recent photo of Pluto, showing the rugged terrain on the rocky surface.
  • 3/17
    New Horizons has traveled 3 billion miles since it launched in 2006. The fastest spacecraft ever to leave the Earth's orbit, New Horizons passed Pluto at a speed of 45,000 km/h
    3/17 New Horizons has traveled 3 billion miles since it launched in 2006. The fastest spacecraft ever to leave the Earth's orbit, New Horizons passed Pluto at a speed of 45,000 km/h
  • 4/17
    The moment New Horizons passed within 7,770 miles of Pluto’s surface was played out to 'The Final Countdown' by Europe, the 80s glam metal band
    4/17 The moment New Horizons passed within 7,770 miles of Pluto’s surface was played out to 'The Final Countdown' by Europe, the 80s glam metal band
  • 5/17
    A photo taken by New Horizons of Pluto and its moon, Charon.
    5/17 A photo taken by New Horizons of Pluto and its moon, Charon.
  • 6/17
    Measurements from New Horizon have shown that Pluto is 1,470 miles across, larger than scientists previously thought. Pluto was downgraded to a dwarf planet just months after New Horizons launched and there are hopes that the debate over Pluto's status as a planet could be reopened.
    6/17 Measurements from New Horizon have shown that Pluto is 1,470 miles across, larger than scientists previously thought. Pluto was downgraded to a dwarf planet just months after New Horizons launched and there are hopes that the debate over Pluto's status as a planet could be reopened.
  • 7/17
    It will take 16 months to beam all of New Horizons information back to Earth. The spacecraft runs on a generator powered by plutonium and should be operational until 2030.
    7/17 It will take 16 months to beam all of New Horizons information back to Earth. The spacecraft runs on a generator powered by plutonium and should be operational until 2030.
  • 8/17
    Before New Horizons’ photos of the dwarf planet, the closest photo we had of Pluto’s surface was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. As you can see, it left a bit to the imagination.
    8/17 Before New Horizons’ photos of the dwarf planet, the closest photo we had of Pluto’s surface was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. As you can see, it left a bit to the imagination.
  • 9/17
    Pluto is located at the edge of the solar system, in a region of space called the Kuiper belt.
    9/17 Pluto is located at the edge of the solar system, in a region of space called the Kuiper belt.
  • 10/17
    If New Horizons' flyby of Pluto is successful, it will continue into the Kuiper Belt. Scientists hope the journey will provide us with more information about our solar system.
    10/17 If New Horizons' flyby of Pluto is successful, it will continue into the Kuiper Belt. Scientists hope the journey will provide us with more information about our solar system.
  • 11/17
    Stephen Hawking congratulated the New Horizons team in a recorded message saying, “The revelations of New Horizons may help us to understand better how our solar system was formed. We explore because we are human and we long to know.”
    11/17 Stephen Hawking congratulated the New Horizons team in a recorded message saying, “The revelations of New Horizons may help us to understand better how our solar system was formed. We explore because we are human and we long to know.”
  • 12/17
    New Horizons is carrying the ashes of Clyde William Tombaugh, the astronomer who first discovered Pluto in 1930.
    12/17 New Horizons is carrying the ashes of Clyde William Tombaugh, the astronomer who first discovered Pluto in 1930.
  • 13/17
    Pluto and its moons: Charon, Nix and Hydra. The surface composition of Pluto is frozen water, nitrogen, methane, carbon monoxide. Charon is composed on water and ice.
    13/17 Pluto and its moons: Charon, Nix and Hydra. The surface composition of Pluto is frozen water, nitrogen, methane, carbon monoxide. Charon is composed on water and ice.
  • 14/17
    New Horizons images of Pluto have shown us that the planet has a varied terrain, and scientists believe that it may shed snow. It also has more ice beneath its surface and less rock than scientists anticipated.
    14/17 New Horizons images of Pluto have shown us that the planet has a varied terrain, and scientists believe that it may shed snow. It also has more ice beneath its surface and less rock than scientists anticipated.
  • 15/17
    Pluto takes 248 years to orbit the sun, and was never able to fully orbit the sun before being demoted from a planet in 2006.
    15/17 Pluto takes 248 years to orbit the sun, and was never able to fully orbit the sun before being demoted from a planet in 2006.
  • 16/17
    A person visiting Pluto would weigh 1/15 of their weight on Earth. For comparison, astronauts visiting the moon weighed 1/6.
    16/17 A person visiting Pluto would weigh 1/15 of their weight on Earth. For comparison, astronauts visiting the moon weighed 1/6.
  • 17/17
    A new image of Charon - Pluto's largest moon. The dark patch near the North Pole is informally called Mordor.
    17/17 A new image of Charon - Pluto's largest moon. The dark patch near the North Pole is informally called Mordor.

  • More Galleries

Advertisement

As Nasa's spacecraft speeds past Pluto and into unexplored territory, we breakdown the key information you need to know about this history making journey.

(Photos: Getty) 

Live
Listen on iHeart Radio
Currently On Air
Listen on iHeartRadio