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Stay informed about the latest status of the New Horizons mission to Pluto. The spacecraft is healthy and on course for its encounter with Pluto, with more fuel available than expected for the extended Kuiper Belt Object mission phase. The payload is in good condition and undergoing final checks. The Pluto OpNav Campaign has been conducted successfully, and the spacecraft will enter final hibernation on August 29th. The Pluto Encounter is set to begin on January 15, 2015, with closest approach on July 14, 2015. Ground-based searches for a KBO target have not been successful, leading to a Hubble program to assist in the search. Detailed information on the mission's payload is provided, highlighting the various instruments on board. Follow along with the progress of the mission through the Pluto OpNav Campaign activities and stack images showing Pluto and Charon.
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New Horizons Status PI: Alan Stern (SwRI) PM: JHU-APL • Spacecraft is healthy & On-Course for Pluto • 1.3x more fuel available for KBO Extended Mission phase than originally expected • Payload is healthy and well-calibrated • Finishing final Annual Checkout (ACO-8) • First Pluto OpNav Campaign conducted • See slide below • Enter final Hibernation on Aug 29th • Pluto Encounter begins on 2015-Jan-15 • Pluto Closest Approach: 2015-Jul-14 NH Payload (Radio) (High-E Plasma) (UV Spectral) (Vis-Color + IR Spectral) (Low-E Plasma) (Pan Imager) Intensive searches with ground-based facilities over the past 2 years have not yet yielded a KBO target for NH. So a 194-orbit Hubble program was started in June to help; the figure below shows the first potentially targetable KBO found. Pluto OpNav Campaign : Cleanly separate Pluto & Charon Stacked Images (stars and cosmic rays removed) Visit 12 Visit 11
