A copper-coloured world with a big white heart shape on it:for the first time in human history,Pluto has been unveiled by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft as being utterly cool-looking.The white heart is approximately 1,000 miles/1600 kilometers across.The record-breaking mission marks the farthest-ever comprehensive exploration of a solar system body.New Horizons made its closest pass of Pluto today,practically skimming the surface at an altitude of around 7750 miles.
As New Horizons completes its flyby of Pluto and continues deeper into the Kuiper Belt,NASA's multifaceted journey of discovery continues,NASA said.The spacecraft is in a communications shutdown until just after 9 pm ET tonight,when it will phone home to give status report on its health.Its current speed of more than 30,000 miles an hour-the fastest spacecraft in history-makes it vulnerable to a collision with even a grain of rice-sized object,which would be devastating.
The NH voyage that took nearly 10 years and traversed 3 billion miles is the first ever journey to the Kuiper Belt of icy objects ranging from boulders to dwarf planets.Pluto itself has five known moons orbiting about it.The Kuiper Belt is considered pivotal because it preserves information about the solar system's origins.
After tonight's call home,New Horizons will begin a 16 month process of transmitting its 10 years' worth of data back to earth.Only one photo of its closest approach was released today.Others will follow on Wednesday.Note:The photo of Pluto and its moon Charon posted in his blog was from 11 July.
The spacecraft was designed,built,and is being operated by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab in Laurel,Maryland.
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