New Horizons Pluto/KBO Mission Hal Weaver The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory To Pluto and Beyond
TheThe InitialInitial ReconnaissanceReconnaissance ofof TheThe SolarSolar SystemSystem’’ss ““ThirdThird ZoneZone”” KBOs Pluto-Charon Jupiter System 2016-2020 July 2015 Feb-March 2007
Launch Jan 2006
PI: Alan Stern New Horizons: Overview
Science Team: New Horizons was one of PI: Alan Stern the consortia proposals Fran Bagenal Rick Binzel submitted for NASA’s Bonnie Buratti January 2001 request for Andy Cheng Dale Cruikshank mission proposals to flyby Randy Gladstone Pluto-Charon and the Will Grundy Kuiper Belt Dave Hinson Mihaly Horanyi Don Jennings New Horizons was selected Ivan Linscott Jeff Moore by NASA on 29 Nov 2001 Dave McComas Bill McKinnon New Horizons was funded Ralph McNutt Scott Murchie and approved to enter into Cathy Olkin full-scale development in Carolyn Porco Harold Reitsema March 2003 Dennis Reuter Dave Slater New Horizons was later John Spencer Darrell Strobel designated New Frontiers 1 Mike Summers Len Tyler Hal Weaver Leslie Young New Horizons Project Team
SwRI and APL Teamed to Lead the Project SwRI leads the science team and payload and is the PI institution APL leads mission development & operations
With Major Team Partners: Ball for the Ralph instrument NASA/GSFC for the LEISA IR focal plane Stanford for the REX radio science investigation Lockheed-Martin as the Atlas V ELV Boeing as the STAR-48B upper stage supplier Dept of Energy for the RTG JPL for DSN, Technical Analyses, & CoI support KinetX for Navigation
And a Pluto-Kuiper Belt Science Team: 28 members, various institutions NH Mission Management Launch 2006 January 19 14:00 EST
• Launched on Atlas V 551 - Nearly perfect trajectory - Fastest Earth departure ever (36,000 mph = 58,000 km/hr) - Passed Moon’s orbit in 9 hours - Pass orbits of: o Mars on 4/7/2006 o Jupiter on 2/28/2007 o Saturn on 6/8/2008 o Uranus on 3/18/2011 o Neptune on 8/24/2014 • Pluto system encounter on 7/14/2015 • Total S/C mass = 478 kg (1054 lb) - 77 kg (170 lb) of hydrazine - 30 kg (66 lb) of science payload • 200 W power from RTG at Pluto • Total Cost ~$710M (FY08) New Horizons Launch Vehicle 200 ft New Horizons Year-by-Year
L. Young New Horizons Now New Horizons Science Instruments NH Spacecraft & Instruments
2.1 meters New Horizons Jupiter Encounter
Encounter Closest Approach: 2007 Feb 28 05:43:40 UTC
At Distance of 32 RJ 2.3 million km 1.4 million miles
(1 RJ = 71,400 km)
20% Speed Boost NH Flyby results published in in 2007 October 12 issue of Science • Nine Papers o Mesoscale Waves o Ammonia Clouds o Polar Lightning o Io Volcanism & Atmosphere o Rings & Things o Magnetotail • Perspective • Editor’s Comment • Cover
Little Red Spot paper in Astronomical Journal
NASA Space Science Update NASA press conference Special DPS session Special Fall AGU session
NASA Jupiter Data Analysis AO released in Feb 2008 The Pluto Quadruple System 286,000 km
Nix Hydra
Charon 12.5"
Pluto
Combination of Four Hubble ACS Images Taken on 2006 Feb 15.6 UT But Progress Will Be Limited Until We Visit
This is the fundamental historical lesson of planetary exploration
Earth’s Moon at the Earth’s Moon at Same Resolution 5 km per pixel New Horizons Pluto Encounter NH Pluto Science Objectives
Mandatory Science Floor NH Science Team has added similar Nix Highly Desirable and Hydra objectives at one level lower priority (e.g., Nix geology is Group 2)
Bonus Encounter Highlights ¾ Approximately 7 months of encounter science at Pluto ¾ Exceed Hubble resolution for almost 3 months ¾ Map entire sunlit areas of Pluto and Charon ¾ Make global composition maps of Pluto and Charon ¾ Map Pluto and Charon surface temperatures ¾ Directly measure Pluto’s atmosphere: its escape rate, its pressure and temperature, its composition and search for hazes ¾ Improve interior structure models and determine if either Pluto or Charon is differentiated ¾ Obtain high resolution images of Nix and Hydra ¾ Make compositional measurements of Nix and Hydra ¾ Locate additional Pluto-system satellites and search for rings
The most exciting discoveries will likely be the ones we never anticipated New Horizons “Firsts”
¾ First mission to Pluto ¾ First since launch Voyager in 1977 to an unexplored planet ¾ First mission to explore a double planet ¾ First mission to explore an ice dwarf ¾ First mission to study Kuiper Belt Objects ¾ Fastest space mission ever launched ¾ First PI-led outer planets mission ¾ First planetary mission to carry a student built instrument ¾ First outer planets mission led by APL and SwRI NH Space Science Reviews Volume New Horizons Web Site http://pluto.jhuapl.edu Backup Simulated LORRI global maps produced during Pluto approach
Earth’s moon is used to create simulated images
Contour map shows predicted resolution
J. Spencer Pluto Encounter Geometry
To Sun Pluto Encounter Geometry
To Sun Pluto at Approach
• Sunlit in southern hemisphere & dark Sun’s Shadow in northern cap Z North Pole • New Horizons Prime Meridian approaches Pluto Sun terminator from southern hemisphere X Y • Solar phase angle Equator at approach is 15°
Sub-spacecraft • Pluto makes one position 10 days To Spacecraft rotation every 6.4 before C/A Sub-solar position Earth days (-49.4°, 30.7°) New Horizons Ground Track on Pluto
at Closest Approach
Sub-solar Position at C/A