Spacecraft, New Horizons, Mock-up, model
notes: label: Summary
content: New Horizons will be the first spacecraft to visit Pluto and the Kuiper Belt in the outer solar system. It was launched aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base, Florida, on January 19, 2006, and conducted a Jupiter flyby 13 months later to gain further acceleration. New Horizons will make its closest approach to Pluto on July 14, 2015.
label: Summary
content: The half-ton spacecraft contains scientific instruments to map the surface geology and composition of Pluto and its three moons, investigate Pluto's atmosphere, measure the solar wind, and assess interplanetary dust and other particles. After it passes Pluto, controllers plan to fly the spacecraft by one or two Kuiper Belt objects. New Horizons carries several souvenirs from Earth, including some of the remains of Clyde Tombaugh (1906-1997), discoverer of Pluto, and a piece of SpaceShipOne.
label: Summary
content: The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory donated this to the Museum in 2008.
label: Alternate Name
content: New Horizons (Full-Scale Model)
label: Key Accomplishment(s)
content: First Spacecraft to Explore Pluto
label: Brief Description
content: New Horizons is the first spacecraft to explore Pluto, its moons, and the icy bodies of the Kuiper Belt. It launched in 2006 and arrived at Pluto in the summer of 2015.
place: label: Country of Origin
content: United States of America
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Air and Space Museum Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of John Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Air and Space Museum
identifier: label: Inventory Number
content: A20080394000
objectType: label: Type
content: MODELS-Uncrewed Spacecraft & Parts
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Materials
content: Wood, mylar, and plastics
label: Dimensions
content: 3-D: 274.3 × 213.4 × 198.1cm, 210.9kg (9 ft. × 7 ft. × 6 ft. 6 in., 465lb.)