Video: New Horizons Will Shed More Light on Pluto Than Ever Before
Artist's concept of the New Horizons space craft as it reaches Pluto NASA
NASA has released a documentary on this far-out mission.
On July 14, after nine years and 3 billion miles, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will finally have reached its destination of Pluto on the outskirts of the solar system.
In honor of this momentous occasion, NASA has produced a documentary, "The Year of Pluto," detailing the long journey of New Horizons from mere idea to the culmination of its adventure.
The mission began in 2006, with NASA's self-described "biggest, baddest rocket tricked out with every conceivable booster" launching into the solar system. Finally, in December 2014, the spacecraft awoke from hibernation for the last time.
"Exploring the outer solar system, because it's so far, takes a lot of time," said Fran Bagenal, New Horizons co-investigator. "It requires a lot of patience, a lot of dedication, a lot of perseverance. But it's the frontier."
If the mission at Pluto goes well, NASA might choose to extend it farther out into the Kuiper Belt, the mysterious third zone of the solar system.
To learn more about the New Horizons mission, check out NASA's documentary below:
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