[Newsbot]

Title: NASA's New Horizons mission should be able to learn whether liquid water exists a hundred miles beneath the dwarf planet Pluto's surface. | Space.com
Category: Science
Posted By: Gunnair
Date: 2011-11-22 20:30:11

[Gunnair]

Can't wait until 2015!

[DrCaleb]

+1 Gunny.

The distances still stagger me.

The Apollo mission took 3 days to get to the moon. New Horizons took 9 hours. At that speed, it will take 9 years to get to Pluto, and at that velocity (the fastest for a probe so far) it won't be able to stay very long at Pluto.

[Tricks]

What's the ultimate goal of New Horizon?

[saturn_656]

Tricks wrote:

What's the ultimate goal of New Horizon?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Horizons

Quote:

Primary objectives (required)
Characterize the global geology and morphology of Pluto and Charon
Map chemical compositions of Pluto and Charon surfaces
Characterize the neutral (non-ionized) atmosphere of Pluto and its escape rate

Loss of any of these objectives will constitute a failure of the mission.

Secondary objectives (expected)
Characterize the time variability of Pluto's surface and atmosphere
Image select Pluto and Charon areas in stereo
Map the terminators (day/night border) of Pluto and Charon with high resolution
Map the chemical compositions of select Pluto and Charon areas with high resolution
Characterize Pluto's ionosphere, and its interaction with the solar wind
Search for neutral species such as H2, hydrocarbons, HCN and other nitriles in the atmosphere
Search for any Charon atmosphere
Determine bolometric bond albedos for Pluto and Charon
Map surface temperatures of Pluto and Charon

It is expected, but not demanded, that most of these objectives will be met.

Tertiary objectives (desired)
Characterize the energetic particle environment at Pluto and Charon
Refine bulk parameters (radii, masses) and orbits of Pluto and Charon
Search for additional moons, and any rings

[Gunnair]

DrCaleb wrote:

+1 Gunny.

The distances still stagger me.

The Apollo mission took 3 days to get to the moon. New Horizons took 9 hours. At that speed, it will take 9 years to get to Pluto, and at that velocity (the fastest for a probe so far) it won't be able to stay very long at Pluto.

Yeah, sadly it's going to be a flyby only. Think of it though, probe to Pluto and Dawn makes it to orbit around Ceres all in the same year! I'll be living on NASA's website!

[DrCaleb]

Gunnair wrote:

DrCaleb wrote:

+1 Gunny.

The distances still stagger me.

The Apollo mission took 3 days to get to the moon. New Horizons took 9 hours. At that speed, it will take 9 years to get to Pluto, and at that velocity (the fastest for a probe so far) it won't be able to stay very long at Pluto.

Yeah, sadly it's going to be a flyby only. Think of it though, probe to Pluto and Dawn makes it to orbit around Ceres all in the same year! I'll be living on NASA's website!

Best mission since Voyager. Or perhaps Cassini.

[Gunnair]

DrCaleb wrote:

Gunnair wrote:

DrCaleb wrote:

+1 Gunny.

The distances still stagger me.

The Apollo mission took 3 days to get to the moon. New Horizons took 9 hours. At that speed, it will take 9 years to get to Pluto, and at that velocity (the fastest for a probe so far) it won't be able to stay very long at Pluto.

Yeah, sadly it's going to be a flyby only. Think of it though, probe to Pluto and Dawn makes it to orbit around Ceres all in the same year! I'll be living on NASA's website!

Best mission since Voyager. Or perhaps Cassini.

I can't get enough of Cassini. That has provided some of the most amazing photos and I could look at pictures of Enceladus and the Titan radar images all day long!

[DrCaleb]

Gunnair wrote:

DrCaleb wrote:

Gunnair wrote:

Yeah, sadly it's going to be a flyby only. Think of it though, probe to Pluto and Dawn makes it to orbit around Ceres all in the same year! I'll be living on NASA's website!

Best mission since Voyager. Or perhaps Cassini.

I can't get enough of Cassini. That has provided some of the most amazing photos and I could look at pictures of Enceladus and the Titan radar images all day long!

We sound like such geeks. Huygens photos do it for me.

[Gunnair]

DrCaleb wrote:

Gunnair wrote:

DrCaleb wrote:

Best mission since Voyager. Or perhaps Cassini.

I can't get enough of Cassini. That has provided some of the most amazing photos and I could look at pictures of Enceladus and the Titan radar images all day long!

We sound like such geeks. Huygens photos do it for me.

[Gunnair]

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/epoxi/index.html

'nother great mission.