New Horizons

New Horizons

New Horizons is the first mission to the dwarf planet Pluto. Launched in 2006, New Horizons’ closest approach to Pluto was nine long years later in 2015. Pluto lies in the Kuiper belt on the edge of the Solar System, New Horizon's aim is to study Pluto’s surface properties, geology and atmosphere to investigate how ice dwarf planets have evolved over time. New Horizons is now expected to head further into the Kuiper belt, exploration of this belt has been ranked as of the highest priority for Solar System exploration by The National Academy of Sciences.

Messages from the edge of the Solar System: What New Horizons is still revealing about Pluto and beyond

As the New Horizon’s spacecraft ventures deeper into the distant Kuiper belt, we take a look at what we’re learning from this groundbreaking mission.
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Minor planet given official name 'Arrokoth'

Arrokoth means ‘sky’ in the language of the Native American Powhatan people, NASA said.
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New Horizons returns sharp image of Ultima Thule

The first high definition photo of the minor planet Ultima Thule has arrived back on Earth from the New Horizons probe.
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Surprises are in store for the New Horizons’ fly by

There will be no New Year’s Eve revelry for those working on NASA’s New Horizon’s space probe.
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Public decides on demonic naming system for Pluto

New discoveries on the surface of the dwarf planet Pluto will be named after denizens of the underworld after public vote.
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What would it be like to land on Pluto?

NASA releases video imagining landing on the dwarf planet to celebrate one year since New Horizons arrived.
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See every New Horizons picture of Pluto in one image

Nearly a year after the New Horizons passed Pluto, the spacecraft is still sending back incredible photos of the dwarf planet.
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The final frontier: what will we find on Pluto?

As NASA's New Horizons spacecraft nears Pluto, Govert Schilling explores what we might find waiting for us on this alien world.
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New Horizons captures Pluto in colour

Three months before it's due to sweep past the distant dwarf planet, NASA's New Horizons has sent back its first colour image of Pluto.
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Could Neptune and Pluto ever collide, as their orbits intersect?

New Horizons captured the public's imagination with stunning new images of Pluto. Could we lose this dwarf-planet to its neighbour, Neptune?
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