July 14, 2015
The latest color image of Pluto shows a bright, heart-shaped terrain.
NASA/John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
Astronomers, scientists and those who dream of space are all eagerly watching as a NASA spacecraft flies three billion miles from Earth near the edges of our solar system.
When New Horizons reaches its closest approach to Pluto, one Longhorn will have particular cause to celebrate the historic accomplishment: Alan Stern, the mission’s leader.
Stern, who holds bachelor’s degrees in physics and astronomy and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering and planetary atmospheres from UT, is the principal investigator on the New Horizons mission. After nearly 10 years in flight, New Horizons will spend five months studying Pluto and its moons. On Tuesday, July 14, shortly before 7 a.m. Texas time, the spacecraft was set to get as close as it will to Pluto, some 7,800 miles from the surface.
The New Horizons mission has already helped scientists determine Pluto is larger than many prior estimates and will ultimately help us understand worlds at the edge of our solar system. Equipped with high-tech cameras, the spacecraft lets astronomers see Pluto in never-before-seen detail.
