So, while New Horizons approaches Pluto, you can join in the excitement by spotting the tiny, icy world yourself.
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One day after officially announcing correction of the problem and resumption of all science activities, the New Horizons team celebrated the beginning of its encounter mode. “Now we’re eager to get back to the science and prepare for the payoff that’s yet to come”.
This map of Pluto, made from images taken by the LORRI instrument aboard New Horizons, shows a wide array of bright and dark markings of varying sizes and shapes.
After suffering from a technical anomaly on July 4, NASA confirms that New Horizons, the Pluto-bound spacecraft, is back on track for its historic mission.
Soon, we will know if there are differences in the presence of methane ice from one part of Pluto to another, he added in a statement. These images unwrap the visible elements of the sphere on a flat projection providing another view of the features that started emerging in recent days.
Piloting the Australian antennas will be five operators, known as team C, who will ensure the connection with New Horizons’ satellite keeps the stream of data flowing smoothly on the night.
A new map of Pluto that scientists have constructed from images captured by the famed spacecraft New Horizons has just hit the proverbial press. “When we get a clear look at the surface of Pluto for the very first time, I promise, it will knock your socks off”. Since no spacecraft has ever gotten as far as Pluto before, there is no robot to show off in the stamp illustration.
By that time, NBC said that the spacecraft is scheduled to begin a pre-programmed observational campaign for the mission that will last for two days after the flyby.
Stephen Hawking called New Horizon’s trip to Pluto “momentous”, explaining that this is something you’d have read in a science fiction novel when the famed theoretical physicist was a boy, but now it’s actually happening.
At first glance it resembles circular features seen elsewhere in the solar system, from impact craters to volcanoes, but the boffins are restraining themselves from offering any interpretations of this and other features on Pluto until more detailed images are at hand.
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NASA is also hoping to see if there is anything beyond Pluto. The main computer was multi-tasking in preparation for the big event coming up – and dealing with heavier, more complex data loads than expected – when the trouble arose.
