After several failed mission concepts, JPL and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory engineers and scientists moved ahead with New Horizons; however, its mission had several limitations that had to be taken into consideration. New Horizons only had nine minutes to take the best, most focused photos of Pluto – that’s like hitting a golf […]
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Pluto and its moons hold many secrets that New Horizons discovered through Alice – its sensitive ultraviolet imaging spectrometer. Instruments have detected an atmospheric haze which could contain methane. Pluto Underground team has created a unique spacecraft designed to investigate this mystery. The Mission As New Horizons will pass Pluto this Wednesday, astronomers will finally
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New Horizons is equipped with a multilayered thermal insulation system to retain heat produced by its operating electronics, keeping its shape and remaining precisely aligned for gathering data through instruments, communicating with Earth or maneuvering through space. Small hydrazine thrusters reorient the spacecraft 100 times every second, while star trackers and an inertial measurement unit
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Mars has long been of interest to scientists and astronomers. As one of our nearest neighbors, this planet holds many mysteries to reveal. Mars is an extremely cold planet located much further from the sun than Earth. Mars, known for its fiery hue, stands as a powerful and brave symbol. Astronomy Mars, located fourth from
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Many readers of The New York Times have voiced displeasure with a cartoon depicting India’s successful launch and landing of its Mangalyaan robotic probe. As a result, the newspaper issued an apology and pledged to review their editorial policy accordingly. Rocket had been part of Leo’s baby mobile, which would sing. Over time he became
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On 14 July 2015, New Horizons made an epic journey through Pluto’s system and returned spectacular images showing an icy world with towering water-ice mountains and vast plains of frozen nitrogen. From concept to launch day – and multiple nearly cancelled attempts along the way – took a difficult 17 years. How does it work?
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Scientists have recently discovered an exoplanet which lies closer to Earth than ever before – within just four light-years and within its star’s habitable zone, where liquid water could potentially exist on its surface. Planet 95% the size of our own Earth would likely be composed of rocks and soil; it likely orbits a red
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Stern and his team struggled for years to launch their mission, facing an intense race against time: only four years were available for designing, launching and reaching Jupiter for gravity assistance. New Horizons would likely make its first encounter with Pluto and Charon during its trek through the Kuiper Belt – an outer region of
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The Planetary Society battled hard for New Horizons mission’s successful launch to Pluto. When its flyby of this classic solar system planet and its four tiny moons Styx, Nix, Hydra and Kerberos took place in July 2015 it revolutionized our understanding of this classic world. Scientists are still processing the wealth of data New Horizons
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