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Destination Pluto: NASA's New Horizons Mission in Pictures

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Flowing Ice on Pluto's Plains (2)

NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

A backlit, oblique view of a New Horizons image showing how ice (probably frozen nitrogen) is flowing from Pluto’s mountains through valleys (outlined by red arrows) onto the plains known as Sputnik Planum; the “flow front” there is outlined by blue arrows in this photo, which covers an area 390 miles (630-kilometer) wide.

Perpective View of Pluto

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

A perspective view of Pluto, based on the latest high-resolution images downlinked from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, gives the impression of looking down from a height of approximately 1,100 miles (1,800 km) above Pluto. Image released Sept. 10, 2015.

Mosaic of Sputnik Planum on Pluto

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

This mosaic, made of high-resolution images of Pluto sent back from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft from Sept. 5 to 7, 2015, shows the icy plain Sputnik Planum (informal name), the bright region across the center.

Range of Surface Features on Pluto

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

This image from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft shows an area 220-mile (350-kilometer) wide on Pluto with very varied surface reflectivities and geological landforms. Image released Sept. 10, 2015.

Broken Terrain on Pluto

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft shows a 300-mile-wide (470-kilometer) area of jumbled, broken terrain on the edge of Sputnik Planum (informal name) plain. Image released Sept. 10, 2015.

Pluto's Moon Charon

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft sent back to earth a higher quality version of an image of Pluto's moon Charon first obtained on July 14, 2015. Image released Sept. 10, 2015.

Twilight on Pluto

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

Twilight on Pluto is seen in this New Horizons image which has been processed two different ways. Image released Sept. 10, 2015.

Sun Shining Through Pluto's Atmosphere

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

A processed image of the sun shining through Pluto's atmosphere (right, unedited version at left) reveals multiple layers of haze.

Informal Names for Features on Pluto

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

Image showing the informal names being used by the New Horizons team for features on Pluto. These monikers have not yet been approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

Informal Names for Features on Pluto’s Sputnik Planum

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

Image showing the informal names being used by the New Horizons team for features on the icy Pluto plains known as Sputnik Planum. These monikers have not yet been approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

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Space.com Staff
Space.com Staff

Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Kim Hickock as our Reference Editor and Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.