This site may earn affiliate commissions from the links on this page. Terms of use.

new horizons

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft made history a month ago when it successfully completed its flyby of Pluto, only the plucky trivial probe isn't done yet. It'due south all the same heading deeper into the mysterious Kuiper Belt, and the New Horizons team is working on plans to explore it further. They've identified a Kuiper Chugalug Object (KBO) that should be ideal for a flyby, and then at present they've got to get the plans finalized in time for the necessary course correction.

It'southward mutual for NASA missions to outlast their original objectives. For instance, the primary mission of the Curiosity rover was just 687 Earth days, simply information technology's well over 1100 days at present. When the fantastic engineering of a infinite mission allows information technology to outlive the chief mission, the team has the risk to practice more science. Right from the start, it was assumed that New Horizons could visit a smaller KBOs after the Pluto flyby, and one chosen 2022 MU69 looks like the all-time candidate.

This KBO has been nicknamed "Potential Target one" or just PT1 for short. It was chosen considering its location would make information technology easy to encounter without likewise much fuel expenditure. PT1 is also 1 of a class of very ancient and pristine KBOs that could tell u.s. a lot almost the composition of the early solar system.

nh-path

As you can probably tell from the proper noun of 2022 MU69, it was discovered in 2022. So none of the early planning of this mission took its location into account. The search for a suitable KBO target began in earnest in 2022 using big ground-based telescopes. Nevertheless, NASA was disheartened to learn that none of the objects they were spotting were within the probe'due south range. Then Hubble turned its mirror toward the Kuiper Belt in summertime 2022 and found 5 potential targets, one of which is 2022 MU69.

PT1 is certainly no dwarf planet, although information technology's still quite big compared to most objects. It'south roughly 30 miles (nigh 45 kilometers) across, but very dense. Information technology'southward basically a huge comet or asteroid. Its composition is thought to be similar to that of Pluto and other dwarf planets.

The squad needs to go all the plans in identify and approved for funding in 2022 to have the best adventure of success. The longer they wait, the more than fuel volition be needed to line up with PT1. New Horizons was loaded with additional hydrazine fuel to enable the trip, just once it's gone, that'due south the end of the mission. The communication array was designed to operate far outside the orbit of Pluto as well. If the mission plan is canonical, New Horizons will reach 2022 MU69 in Jan 2022. In the meantime, New Horizons notwithstanding has a mount of Pluto data to trickle back to World.