New Horizons
New Horizons
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is 0.7 metres tall, 2.1 metres long, 2.7 metres at its widest and weighs 478 kilograms. With an initial speed of 16 kilometres per second, it was the fastest spacecraft to leave Earth. The science payload has a mass of 31 kilograms that consume 30 watts. There are seven experiments: Alice: Ultraviolet imaging spectrometer; analyses composition and structure of Pluto's atmosphere and looks for atmospheres around Charon and Kuiper Belt Objects; LORRI Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (20.8 cm Telescopic camera; obtains encounter data at long distances); PEPSSI - Pluto Energetic Particle Spectrometer Science Investigation (Energetic particle spectrometer; investigats the immediate environment of the body); Ralph - Visible and infrared imager/spectrometer (provides colour, composition and thermal maps); REX - Radio Science EXperiment (Measures atmospheric composition and temperature; passive radiometer); SDC - Student Dust Counter (measures the space dust); SWAP - Solar Wind Around Pluto (Measures interaction solar wind and magnetic field).
