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The New Horizons Mission to Pluto and Flyby of JupiterNew Horizons (NH) is NASA's mission to provide the first in situ reconnaissance of Pluto and its moons Charon, Nix, and Hydra. The NH spacecraft will reach Pluto in July 2015 and will then, if approved for an extended mission phase, continue on to a flyby encounter with one or more Kuiper belt objects (KBOs). NH was launched on 19 January 2006 and received a gravity assist during a flyby encounter with Jupiter (with closest approach at -32 RJ on 28 February 2007) that reduced its flight time to Pluto by 3 years. During the Jupiter flyby, NH collected a trove of multi-wavelength imaging and fields-and-particles measurements. Among the many science results at Jupiter were a detection of planet-wide mesoscale waves, eruptions of atmospheric ammonia clouds, unprecedented views of Io's volcanic plumes and Jupiter's tenuous ring system, a first close-up of the Little Red Spot (LRS), first sightings of polar lightning, and a trip down the tail of the magnetosphere. In 2015, NH will conduct a seven-month investigation of the Pluto system culminating in a closest approach some 12,500 km from Pluto's surface. Planning is presently underway for the Pluto encounter with special emphasis on longidentified science goals of studying the terrain, geology, and composition of the surfaces of Pluto and Charon, examining the composition and structure of Pluto's atmosphere, searching for an atmosphere on Charon, and characterizing Pluto's ionosphere and solar wind interaction. Detailed inspections will also be performed of the newly discovered satellites Nix and Hydra. Additionally, NH will characterize energetic particles in Pluto's environment, refine the bulk properties of Pluto and Charon, and search for additional satellites and rings.
Document ID
20080023437
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Stern, Alan
(Southwest Research Inst. United States)
Weaver, Hal
(Johns Hopkins Univ. MD, United States)
Young, Leslie
(Southwest Research Inst. United States)
Bagenal, Fran
(Colorado Univ. CO, United States)
Binzel, Richard
(Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. MA, United States)
Buratti, Bonnie
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Cheng, andy
(Johns Hopkins Univ. MD, United States)
Cruikshank, Dale
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Gladstone, Randy
(Southwest Research Inst. United States)
Grundy, Will
(Lowell Observatory Flagstaff, AZ, United States)
Hinson, David
(Stanford Univ. CA, United States)
Horanyi, Mihaly
(Colorado Univ. CO, United States)
Jennings, Don
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Linscott, Ivan
(Stanford Univ. CA, United States)
McComas, Dave
(Southwest Research Inst. United States)
McKinnon, William
(Washington Univ. WA, United States)
McNutt, Ralph
(Johns Hopkins Univ. MD, United States)
Moore, Jeffrey
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Murchie, Scott
(Johns Hopkins Univ. MD, United States)
Olkin, Cathy
(Southwest Research Inst. United States)
Porco, Carolyn
(Space Science Inst. United States)
Reitsema, Harold
(Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. United States)
Reuter, Dennis
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Slater, Dave
(Southwest Research Inst. United States)
Spencer, John
(Southwest Research Inst. United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2008
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Meeting Information
Meeting: Western Pacific Geophysics Meeting
Location: Cairns
Country: Australia
Start Date: July 29, 2008
End Date: August 1, 2008
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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