← ALL PROBES
DISTANCE FROM SUN65.4232 AU
DISTANCE FROM EARTH64.6877 AU
VELOCITY13.583 km/s
LIGHT TIME9 hours
ACTIVE
UPDATEDmoments ago
65.4232
AU FROM SUN
DISTANCE
9,787,171,414 km
48,899
KM/H
VELOCITY
20 years, 218 days
MISSION DURATION
AND COUNTING
9
HOURS LIGHT TIME
ONE-WAY SIGNAL DELAY
478
KG
LAUNCH MASS
4
TARGETS
Jupiter, Pluto, Arrokoth
New Horizons is a flyby mission by NASA / APL targeting Kuiper Belt. Launched January 19, 2006. Currently 65.4232 AU from the Sun.
ABOUT NEW HORIZONS
New Horizons performed the first flyby of Pluto in July 2015, revealing a surprisingly complex and geologically active world. It then continued to the Kuiper Belt, flying past Arrokoth (2014 MU69) on January 1, 2019 — the most distant object ever visited by a spacecraft. It continues heliospheric observations as it heads toward the outer solar system.
KEY DISCOVERIES
- Plutos heart-shaped nitrogen ice plain (Sputnik Planitia)
- Mountains of water ice on Pluto up to 3,500m high
- Plutos thin but complex atmosphere
- Arrokoth (2014 MU69) contact binary shape
TECHNOLOGY & FIRSTS
- Fastest launch speed of any spacecraft (58,000 km/h)
- First mission to Pluto
- First Kuiper Belt object flyby (Arrokoth)
SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS (7)
LORRI (Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager)
Ralph (Visible/IR imager)
Alice (UV spectrograph)
REX (Radio experiment)
SWAP (Solar wind analyzer)
PEPSSI (Energetic particle spectrometer)
SDC (Student Dust Counter)
SPACECRAFT SPECIFICATIONS
Launch Mass478 kg (1,054 lbs)
PowerRTG (Plutonium-238) (190W)
PropulsionHydrazine monopropellant
Communications12W transmitter, 2.1m high-gain antenna, X-band
Max Data Rate1-2 kbps at Pluto distance
Launch VehicleAtlas V 551
Launch DateJanuary 19, 2006
Arrival DateJuly 14, 2015
ProgramNew Frontiers
MISSION TRAJECTORY
1
Jupiter
2
Pluto
3
Arrokoth
4
Kuiper Belt
🚀 LAUNCH MISSION