Lots of happy New Horizons team members after Pluto encounter yesterday (14 July 2015) Well, the new Horizons spacecraft appears to have achieved a successful flyby of the Pluto system yesterday with much celebrating at mission control in Maryland USA. However, as the close encounter was controlled autonomously, we will have to wait a while to see if all the data and image gathering tasks were performed correctly. But so far all looks good, with the spacecraft re-establishing a telemetry link with the ground today (Wednesday 15 July 2015), indicating the the spacecraft is healthy after its close approach.
Prior to this the spacecraft was able to transmit some hi-res images, a couple of which are shown below. Watch this space for more revelations over the coming days!
Prior to this the spacecraft was able to transmit some hi-res images, a couple of which are shown below. Watch this space for more revelations over the coming days!
The 'double planet' - Pluto (left) and its major moon Charon
First hi-res image of Pluto prior to closest approach - the definition of surface features is not great with the Sun illuminating Pluto from behind the spacecraft.
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