1 of 21
NASA's New Horizons Mission at Pluto
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
An artist's concept of the New Horizons spacecraft as it visits Pluto in 2015. Instruments will map Pluto and its moons, providing detail not only on the surface of the dwarf planet, but also about its shape, which could reveal whether or not an ocean lies beneath the ice.
2 of 21
Charon Visible Orbiting Pluto
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
Charon is visible for the first time in pictures taken by the Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft. Image released July 10, 2013. [
Read the Full Story]
3 of 21
Pluto and Charon Seen by New Horizons
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
New Horizons LOng Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) composite image showing the detection of Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, cleanly separated from Pluto itself. The frame on the left is an average of six different LORRI images, each taken with an exposure time of 0.1 second. The frame to the right is the same composite image but with Pluto and Charon circled; Pluto is the brighter object near the center and Charon is the fainter object near its 11 o’clock position. Images released July 10, 2013. [
Read the Full Story]
4 of 21
Pluto-bound Spacecraft Spots Its Target
Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI.
A white arrow marks Pluto in this New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) picture taken Sept. 21, 2006, marking the spacecraft's first look at its target planet.
5 of 21
New Horizons Passing Uranus
Credit: NASA, JHU/APL
An overhead view of the New Horizons spacecraft's path across Uranus' orbit.
6 of 21
Jupiter and Io, by New Horizons
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Goddard Space Flight Center
This montage of New Horizons images shows Jupiter and its volcanic moon Io, and were taken during the spacecraft's Jupiter flyby in early 2007.
7 of 21
Best Color Image of Jupiter's Little Red Spot
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
This amazing color portrait of Jupiter’s “Little Red Spot” (LRS) combines high-resolution images from the New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), taken at 03:12 UT on February 27, 2007, with color images taken nearly simultaneously by the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) on the Hubble Space Telescope.
8 of 21
Proposed New Horizons Stamp
Credit: NASA/SWRI/Dan Durda
Artist Dan Durda's concept for a U.S. postage stamp honoring the New Horizons mission to Pluto. The probe's team has launched an online petition to make the stamp a reality
9 of 21
NASA's New Horizons Spacecraft Sees Jupiter and Io
Credit: NASA/JHU/APL.
NASA's New Horizons snapped this view of Jupiter and its volcanic moon Io in early January 2007.
10 of 21
Io Through Different 'Eyes'
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
This montage demonstrates New Horizons' ability to observe the same target in complementary ways using its diverse suite of instruments. The image was released on May 1, 2007.
11 of 21
Jupiter's Moons: Family Portrait
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
This montage shows the best views of Jupiter's four large and diverse "Galilean" satellites as seen by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) on the New Horizons spacecraft during its flyby of Jupiter in late February 2007. The image was released in May 1, 2007.
12 of 21
Polar Lightning on Jupiter
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
Images taken by the New Horizons Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) of Jupiter’s night side showed lightning strikes. Each “strike” is probably the cumulative brightness of multiple strikes.
13 of 21
To Pluto with Postage: Nine Souvenirs Stow Away on NASA Probe
Credit: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute (JHUAPL/SwRI)
This artist's rendering depicts the New Horizons spacecraft as it approaches Pluto and its moons in summer 2015.
14 of 21
Io in Eclipse 2
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
This image of Io eclipsed by Jupiter's shadow is a combination of several images taken by the New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) about 28 hours after the spacecraft's closest approach to Jupiter. The image was released on May 1, 2007.
15 of 21
Pluto-bound Probe Snaps Photo of Jupiter
The first picture of the Jupiter from the New Horizon spacecraft's Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), taken Sept. 4, 2006, is a tantalizing promise of what's to come when New Horizons flies through the Jupiter system early next year.
16 of 21
Pluto-bound Probe Snaps First Photo
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
On Aug. 29, 2006, the New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) opened its launch cover door and took its first image in space, of Messier 7, a star cluster in our Milky Way galaxy. The image shows the center of Messier 7, which was catalogued by Charles Messier in 1764, and described by Ptolemy around 130 A.D. Stars to at least 12th magnitude are clearly visible, meaning LORRI's sensitivity and noise levels in space are consistent with its pre-launch calibrations on the ground. Directionally, north is at the top of the images, east is to the left.
17 of 21
NASA's Pluto Probe Arrives at Spaceport
Credit: John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
New Horizons has undergone extensive testing at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight center and arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
18 of 21
New Horizons: Outbound For Jupiter Flyby
KBO: Artist's impression of the New Horizons spacecraft meeting up with a Kuiper Belt object. The Sun is more than 4.1 billion miles (6.7 billion kilometers) away. Jupiter and Neptune are visible as orange and blue stars to the right of the Sun. Though KBOs would not be so visible at any one moment, they're shown here to illustrate the extensive disk of icy worlds beyond Neptune.
19 of 21
New Horizons Pluto Probe Readied For Launch
Credit: Dan Durda
To be dispatched early 2006, the outward bound New Horizons spacecraft will throw new light on distant Pluto and its moon, Charon, as well as Kuiper Belt objects. Image
20 of 21
NASA's Speediest Probe Gains on Far-Out Pluto
Credit: SwRI (Dan Durda)/JHUAPL(Ken Moscati)
An artist's rendering of the New Horizon spacecraft.
21 of 21
NASA's Pluto Probe Set for Flight
Credit: NASA/KSC
NASA’s New Horizons probe sits atop its Atlas 5 rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
