2023-10-02 13:37:53
Archive – New Horizons Mission – HUBBLESITE – Archive
MADRID, 2 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
NASA has extended the outer solar system exploration mission of the New Horizons spacecraft, which left Earth in 2006, until the end of this decade. now navigate the Kuiper Belt.
As of 2025, New Horizons will focus on collecting unique heliophysical data, “which can be easily obtained during a prolonged, low-activity mode of operations,” according to a statement of the space agency.
While the scientific community is currently not aware of any reachable objects in the Kuiper Belt, this new route allows for the possibility of using the spacecraft for a near future flyby, should one be identified. It will also allow spacecraft conserve fuel and reduce operational complexity while the search is underway for a compelling candidate for the flyby, NASA adds.
“The New Horizons mission is uniquely positioned in our solar system to answer important questions about our heliosphere and provide extraordinary opportunities for multidisciplinary science for NASA and the scientific community,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. NASA in Washington. “The agency decided it was best to extend New Horizons operations until the spacecraft leaves the Kuiper Belt, which is expected between 2028 and 2029.”
Released on January 18, 2006, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft performed a historic flyby of the dwarf planet Pluto in 2015. (its primary mission) and then ventured further afield to flyby the Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth, a two-lobed relic of the formation of our solar system, and other more remote observations of similar bodies.
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