2006
LAUNCHED
2015
PLUTO FLYBY
2019
ARROKOTH FLYBY
~4.8 BILLION KM
DISTANCE FROM EARTH AT PLUTO FLYBY
PLUTO
PRIMARY TARGET
KUIPER BELT
CURRENT REGION
BEYOND PLUTO
New Horizons was launched by NASA in
January 2006 on a mission to explore Pluto
and the distant Kuiper Belt.
After a journey of more than nine years,
the spacecraft flew past Pluto on July 14,
2015, becoming the first spacecraft to
explore the dwarf planet up close.
New Horizons revealed enormous mountains,
vast icy plains, deep canyons and a
surprisingly complex atmosphere.
The spacecraft then continued deeper into
the Kuiper Belt. On January 1, 2019, it
performed the first close flyby of a Kuiper
Belt object, Arrokoth.
The mission continues to travel through
the outer Solar System and study the
environment far beyond Pluto.
NEW HORIZONS DISCOVERIES
PLUTO
New Horizons revealed Pluto's diverse
surface, including Sputnik Planitia,
mountains of water ice and possible
evidence of geological activity.
ARROKOTH
The spacecraft flew past Arrokoth in
2019, providing humanity's first close
look at a primordial Kuiper Belt object.
KUIPER BELT
New Horizons is continuing to explore
the distant outer Solar System and study
dust, plasma and the environment beyond
Pluto.
DID YOU KNOW?
New Horizons crossed the distance from
Earth to Pluto in just over nine years
and reached Pluto at about 14 km/s.
EXPLORING THE KUIPER BELT
New Horizons performed the first close reconnaissance of Pluto and its moons in 2015, revealing a geologically diverse world with mountains of water ice, broad plains and a complex atmosphere. The spacecraft later flew past the Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth, providing a close view of a small body preserved from the early Solar System.
These encounters connect planetary geology with the study of the Kuiper Belt, a population of icy objects that contains clues to how the outer Solar System formed.
Pluto · Kuiper Belt · Voyager
NEW HORIZONS MISSION
NASA / JOHNS HOPKINS APL / SWRI
NASA / JOHNS HOPKINS APL / SWRI