NASA's New Horizons Spacecraft: Seeing Pluto as Never Before

In NASA first of two televised briefings on Tuesday, April 14, plans and upcoming activities about the agency’s mission to Pluto that will make the first-ever close flyby of the dwarf planet on July 14 were discussed.

Briefers described the mission’s goals and context, scientific objectives and encounter plans – including what images can be expected and when.

New Horizons already has covered more than 3 billion miles since it launched on Jan. 19, 2006. The spacecraft will pass Pluto at a speed of 31,000 mph taking thousands of images and making a wide range of science observations. At a distance of nearly 4 billion miles from Earth at flyby, it will take approximately 4.5 hours for data to reach Earth.

Participants for 1-2 p.m. discussion were:

- John Grunsfeld, astronaut and Science Mission Directorate associate administrator, NASA Headquarters, Washington
- James Green, director of Planetary Science, NASA Headquarters
- Alan Stern, New Horizons Principal Investigator, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado
- William McKinnon, New Horizons Co-Investigator, Washington University in St. Louis
- Cathy Olkin, New Horizons Deputy Project Scientist, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado

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