New Horizons

The small object Ultima Thule swims amid a sea of distant stars in a new photo captured by NASA's approaching New Horizons around midnight EST (0500 GMT) on Dec. 1.

In less than 10 weeks, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will explore the most distant target ever visited by a spacecraft. Mission team members don't know what to expect — and that's part of the fun.

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft successfully completed a brief engine burn on Oct. 3, the first maneuver in which it was able to rely on actual photographs it had already taken of its eventual target.

NASA's New Horizons team has passed its 'final exam' ahead of the probe's Jan. 1 flyby of the distant object dubbed Ultima Thule.

With books about space and science intended for a young audience, there is a fine line between writing that's too complex and writing that older kids might write off as "babyish."

The New Horizons spacecraft is on its way to a distant solar system object and has spotted its destination — on its first try and from more than 100 million miles (170 million kilometers) away.

The handlers of NASA's New Horizons spacecraft are gearing up for one last shadow-chasing adventure.