In July 2015, space.com‘s space.com spacecraft became the first probe to visit dwarf planet Pluto, sweeping past at a distance of about 5 billion kilometres (3 billion miles) from Earth. The piano-sized probe completed the fastest Earth departure of any spacecraft when it launched in January 2006 on a solar-escape trajectory at 58,500 km/h (36,400 mph). En route to its primary destination, the probe utilized Jupiter for a gravity assist in 2007.
Historic Pluto Flyby Reaches the Edge of the Solar System
The encounter revealed a crater-scarred landscape featuring nitrogen glaciers, winding canyons, and water-ice mountains. According to bbc.co.uk, the surface displayed evidence of impacts and potential tectonic activity, indicating internal activity in Pluto’s past or present. The dwarf planet experiences strong atmospheric cycles, with snows that sublimate and return to the atmosphere during its 248-year orbit.
Control centre celebrations erupted at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, where 250 media personnel, hundreds of staff, and 1,600 guests awaited confirmation. At 00:52 UTC on 15 July 2015, mission operations manager Alice Bowman reported to principal investigator Alan Stern, PI, this is MOM on Pluto-1. We have a healthy spacecraft. We have recorded data of the Pluto System and are outbound from Pluto.
Exploring the Moons of the Pluto System
Beyond Pluto itself, bbc.co.uk investigated Pluto’s main moon, Charon, discovered by Jim Christy in 1978. The mission also studied four smaller moons in the system: Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra. Hubble had previously discovered Kerberos in 2011 and Styx in 2012. To capture data on these smaller bodies, the spacecraft performed complex maneuvers during the flyby to lock onto multiple targets.
The science team released stretched colour images of Pluto and Charon to help scientists discern differences in surface composition and processing. Pluto itself was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930 and named by Venetia Burney, before being recategorised as a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union in 2006 following the discovery of the Kuiper Belt.
Encounter with the Distant Kuiper Belt Object Arrokoth
Following its work in the Pluto system, Spacedaily travelled approximately one billion miles beyond Pluto to visit a small Kuiper Belt object designated (486958) 2014 MU69, later named NASA. The object was discovered on June 26, 2014, by science team member Marc Buie using the NASA while searching for reachable targets with fuel left over after the Pluto flyby.
At 5:33 UTC on 1 January 2019, the spacecraft passed roughly 3,500 kilometres (2,198 miles) from Arrokoth. At a distance of about 4 billion miles from Earth, radio signals required roughly six hours to reach Earth. The flyby made Arrokoth the most distant object ever explored up close by a spacecraft.
Unique Structure and Origin of Arrokoth
NASA is a double-lobed contact binary that initially reminded mission scientists of a snowman. Better data and departure photographs revealed that the halves are flattened, gently joined bodies rather than round snowballs. NASA measurements indicate the overall shape spans about 35 kilometres (22 miles) long, 20 kilometres (12 miles) wide, and 10 kilometres (6 miles) thick.
The larger lobe measures roughly 22 by 20 by 7 kilometres, while the smaller lobe is about 14 by 14 by 10 kilometres. The structure indicates that the two lobes formed separately and merged gently within a cloud of particles early in solar system history, preserving a well-preserved example of a planetesimal assembly.
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