Space Science Seminar
Speaker: Dr. Harold (Hal) Weaver
（The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory）
Title:
The Exploration of Pluto and the Kuiper Belt with the New Horizons Mission
Abstract:
The New Horizons (NH) mission was selected by NASA in November 2001 to
conduct the first in situ reconnaissance of Pluto and the Kuiper belt.
The NH spacecraft was launched on 2006 January 19, received a gravity
assist from Jupiter during closest approach on 2007 February 28, and
flew 12,500 km above Pluto's surface on 2015 July 14. NH carries a
sophisticated suite of seven scientific instruments, altogether weighing
less than 30 kg and drawing less than 30 W of power, that includes
panchromatic and color imagers, ultraviolet and infrared spectral
imagers, a radio science package, plasma and charged particle sensors,
and a dust counting experiment. These instruments enabled the first
detailed exploration of a new class of solar system objects, the dwarf
planets, which have exotic volatiles on their surfaces, escaping
atmospheres, and satellite systems. NH also provided the first dust
density measurements beyond 18~AU and cratering records that document
both the ancient and present-day collisional environment in the outer
solar system down to sizes of tens of meters. NH obtained unprecedented
data on Pluto’s small satellites (Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra),
adding significantly to the scientific bounty returned from the NH
mission. The NH spacecraft will be targeted toward the flyby of a small
(~30 km) KBO in late-2015, enabling the study of an object in a
completely different dynamical class (cold classical) than Pluto, if
NASA approves an Extended Mission phase.
http://pluto.jhuapl.edu
