III 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 240 

Recognizing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and its partners for the success of the historic flyby of Pluto by the New Horizons 

spacecraft. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 3, 2015 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. NELSON, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. 

PETERS, Mr. CARDIN, and Mr. BENNET) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and its partners for the success of the historic 

flyby of Pluto by the New Horizons spacecraft. 

Whereas, in 1930, from the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, 

Arizona, Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto, the ninth 

largest known body orbiting the sun; 

Whereas, on January 19, 2006, the New Horizons spacecraft 

launched on an Atlas V launch vehicle from the Space 

Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station 

in Florida; 

Whereas, on July 14, 2015, after a 91⁄2-year journey, the 

New Horizons probe successfully flew within approxiVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Aug 03, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR240.IS SR240

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•SRES 240 IS 

mately 7,800 miles (12,500 kilometers) of the surface of 

the dwarf planet Pluto; 

Whereas the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

(referred to in this preamble as ‘‘NASA’’) has now completed missions to each of the 9 largest planetary bodies 

orbiting the sun; 

Whereas the successful New Horizons mission to Pluto was 

achieved through years of planning, research, design, 

testing, and mission operations conducted by the dedicated scientists, engineers, and staff at NASA and affiliated academic and private sector partners; 

Whereas the New Horizons mission was the first mission to 

study Pluto, the moons of Pluto, and other planetary 

building blocks within the Kuiper Belt, which is the ring 

of icy objects that surrounds the solar system beyond the 

orbit of Neptune; 

Whereas the findings of the New Horizons interplanetary 

space probe have demonstrated the great scientific value 

of the continued exploration of Pluto and the outer-region of our solar system; 

Whereas New Horizons is the first mission to collect high-resolution images and a variety of other data about the geological and atmospheric composition of Pluto as well as 

the space environment near Pluto and the moons of 

Pluto; 

Whereas the initial images and data returned from the New 

Horizons spacecraft have already led to new discoveries 

about Pluto, the moons of Pluto, and the space environment near Pluto; 


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•SRES 240 IS 

Whereas images of Pluto show ice mountains that have never 

been seen before and that are comparable in height to the 

Rocky Mountains; 

Whereas images of Charon, the largest moon of Pluto, show 

deep canyons and a row of cliffs and troughs stretching 

600 miles wide; 

Whereas images of Pluto and Charon show a lack of impact 

craters, suggesting that their relatively young surfaces 

have been reshaped by internal geological activity; 

Whereas the data collected by instruments on the New Horizons spacecraft confirms that the Pluto system contains 

a large amount of frozen water, which is considered an 

essential building block of life; 

Whereas the data collected by the New Horizons spacecraft 

will continue to provide scientific insight, data to train 

the next generation of planetary scientists, and inspiration to humanity for years to come; and 

Whereas the New Horizons spacecraft could continue traveling to the far edges of our solar system and could be 

capable of exploring the Kuiper Belt and collecting data 

on our solar system that is not detectable from any other 

spacecraft or telescope due to its unique position, instrumentation, and long-lasting power supply: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) congratulates the National Aeronautics and 

3 Space Administration (referred to in this resolving 

4 clause as ‘‘NASA’’), the Johns Hopkins University 

5 Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland, the South6 west Research Institute in Colorado, and the acaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Aug 03, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR240.IS SR240

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1 demic and private sector partners of the New Hori2 zons mission for their roles in the historic flyby of 

3 Pluto by the New Horizons spacecraft; 

4 (2) recognizes the importance of the New Hori5 zons mission to the long-term exploration of the 

6 solar system by NASA and the training of the next 

7 generation of planetary scientists; 

8 (3) recognizes the importance of the continued 

9 pursuit of robotic space exploration missions by 

10 NASA, which enable extraordinary scientific discov11 eries about the nature and origin of our solar system 

12 and beyond; and 

13 (4) recognizes the significance of the scientific 

14 and engineering research by NASA with respect to 

15 stimulating economic growth, strengthening national 

16 competitiveness, and inspiring humankind. 

Æ 


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