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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

New Horizons Mission to Pluto

We were just discussing earlier if Pluto should be categorized as a planet or not. Perhaps this mission can assist in answering that.

(Jun 9, 2004) Scheduled for launch in 2006, the New Horizons mission will finally get a close up view of Pluto, the only planet never visited by spacecraft. On board the robotic spacecraft will be the Solar Wind Around Pluto (SWAP) instrument, which will measure the interactions between Pluto and the high-speed stream of particles flowing out from the Sun called the solar wind. Since it'll be so far from the Sun, SWAP will be largest aperture device ever built to measure the solar wind. It'll have lots of time to measure; the trip to Pluto will take 9 years. (Courtesy of Universetoday.com)

More info at : www.universetoday.com/am/publish/new_horizons_solar_wind.html?962004

Notice in the artist rendition from NASA, Pluto shows an atmosphere and the Moon "Charon".

Joe
[glow=blue,2,300]Chicago Astronomer[/glow]

[NatureDevil]

So let me get this straight, it seems that the point of the mission is to detect an atmosphere and magnetic field, right? I mean, the point of measuring the solar wind is to see when the electrons get caught up and either bounce off of or stick to and move around a magnetic field, right?

Are they trying to use it to figure out why Charon and Pluto act the way they do? Maybe find the center of gravity they are revolving around? And what if there isn't any solar wind at all? Can they still measure anything?

One of the quotes was "We expect solar wind interactions at Pluto to lie somewhere between the strong and weak extremes." That sounds ridiculous. That is like me stating that my grade in accounting will be somewhere between an A+ and an F. It is a very dizzying article, and has now presented me with more questions.

I am looking forward to this mission, though I personally enjoyed Voyager's mission. That puppy got Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, and several moons in one leap. I mention it now because since the talk of solar wind came up, just last year Voyager reached 90 AU's and was able to get plenty of data on solar wind at that distance from the sun.



Pretty impressive for an old bucket like Voyager. Too bad it will come back to destroy Earth in a few hundred years (loosely based Star Trek joke).

NatureDevil

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Too bad it will come back to destroy Earth in a few hundred years

All V'ger wanted to do was to touch the creator.

Seriously, Both pairs of the Voyagers and Pioneers are incredible machines. They did not know when to quit and kept on calling home. Quite sad really. The antennae of one of the Pioneers veered away from Earth, and could still possibly be sending a signal, but we cannot fix that.

I understand that the energy from the Voyagers are just a small fraction of a watt. The Pioneers have exited the influence of Sol's Heliosphere and now act as an emissary of Earth. I believe that the Pioneers are now silent and are now 8 Billion miles away!

I find it quite funny in retrospect about the recording we sent into space on the Voyagers. It's an LP! With instructions on how to place the "stylus" on the record. How about the clicks and pops? It will probably be interpreted as part of our language, or as a galactic insult!

And whats even more amazing is that the plaque that is bolted on the Pioneers caused an uproar within the closed-minded community, believing that we were spreading pornography thru out the galaxy! How stupid. Or the fact that we provided a roadmap directly to Earth for easy invasion. Hell, I'm still waiting for Planet X!

But now Pluto...

It is quite an asinine statement to make by NASA. I say they are attempting to justify the mission with babble. But, I would be quite interested in an orbital mission of this spacecraft.

The glory days of NASA are long over. Character and "The Right Stuff" are no longer present, and if we ever had a crisis ala "Apollo 13", I don't have much faith in the present administration to solve problems. The days of Krantz, Shepard and Armstrong seem so far away.

Joe
[glow=Blue,2,300]Chicago Astronomer[/glow]

[MuseAphelion]

Universe Today ... what a neat site

I read the article (as well as several others) and it's really amazing what those scientists are up to. There's a line in that New Horizons article that caught my eye that stated that Pluto was the only "planet" in our system not visited by a probe. Kind of gives it more of a "cause it's there" focus, doesn't it? For whatever reason I think it's neat and I'm sure they'll do the same thing that they've done with other probes and send it past other planets on its way out for some quick fly-by shots. Those are are always nice to see and you never know what you might find.

As for the "Right Stuff" days being past us, I'm not so sure. Granted right now we are doing more of our looking from home. But heck, if you can sit at home and figure out that the lava on Io is vaporizing silicon dioxide into its atmosphere (another article) and still afford to build a new telescope you going to do that instead of making one rocket to send off one probe that may or may not make it to its target. More bang for the buck you might say.

I would like to think (and hope) that someday we will go off to colonize planets or moons. On the day that first ship launches off to go to the Moon or Mars you bet they're going to be talking like it was the good old days of Krantz, Shepard and Armstrong.

[astroviewerNGC2207]

I dont know where to start with this post .. guess i will start with this.
As for the LP on the voyager space crafts.. It was the best recording type araratus we had at that time and if found by intelligent beings it would be simple to decipher. As in the plaque. the design was made by Carl Sagan and a few other coleagues. Manly all Sagan.

As in NASA we havent even begub to scratch the surface on where we are headed

Just a few spacecraft have been mentioned. In the day of mercury , gemini , and apollo programs were just the begining. In retrospect and reality if it wasnt for federal "defunding" during the opollo missions we would have had a manned mars mission in the early 80s. But thats how politics works.
Now back to the good stuff ....
Lets not forget the space shuttle program " soon to be axed 2010" The I.S.S. even though a money pit .. has performed very well. Now Towards unmanned ...
DeepSpace1 the first craft to fly with an "ion-drive" for propulsion and, had the ability to navigate all its own by using the stars as its guide. << all a first. What about our space telescopes ... Hubble , Chandra , S.I.R.T.F. , XXM and a few others. Casini , Galileo , StarDust , Genesis. All of the spacecraft sent to mars ...
Pathfinder , Spirit , Oportunity , also the craft that are orbiting mars at this moment. Gravity Probe-B testing part of Einstein's theory of realativiy.
So has NASA been on a decline since the good ol' glory days? I say indeed not !! If one takes a look NASA is the best bang for buck spent by us tax payers!! Lets not forget all of the free enterprise fallout that also comes from NASA. Through their research needs and what private corps. and Universities provide for those needs flourish cutting edge technologies and materials along with other materials and so on wich goes back into and fuel our economy. So to say NASA is a "lame duck" is very presumptuous. For the little funding they get and fight for they do alot more for science , space , and technology than ANY other government organization.

[NatureDevil]

My girlfriend and I drove up to the Kennedy Space Center when we were on one of our road trips, this one to Key West. We hit Knoxville, the Smoky Mountains, a zoo in South Carolina, the U.S.S. Yorktown, an aircraft carrier in Charlestown, and then all along the Atlantic coast, which included the space center.

Unfortunatly, it was Christmas Day when we arrived, and everything was closed. We couldn't even drive along the coast, the whole area was closed up, fenced off, and had gaurds everywhere. I didn't even want a tour or anything, I just wanted to catch a glimpse of....anything really, which is what we aimed for.

Has anybody been there? Or taken the tour or anything? Is it worth the $50 a person they charge, or is it all plush crap? Maybe someday I'll return when I have money (snort).

NatureDevil

[stargazer]

Hey Guys,

I am not relly sure where to begin this but i will try.

First of all we had planned to go to Pluto some time ago but because our lovely government cut the spending so Pluto had to wait. The money that NASA gets today is basically equal to what they were getting back in the days of the Apollo and Gemini Missions. What we need to do is raise the funds that we give NASA to the current rate that the rest of the government programs get. But all they do is cut the budget. Most of the people in the Houses are against the Space program. Just like Kerry. He has voted against any and all raises for NASA and will not answer any question when it comes to any Space Mission. If Kerry gets into the Oval Office we most likely will lose the Space Pragram. We as Astronomers have to stick together to keep the Hubble and the Space Centers open and running. I dont know if you all have seen the petition to Save The Hubble but I will include a link here just in case. I and many friends have signed it. ( savehubble.org/ ) hope all in here will sign it as well.

Now for the next part of this. As of for the Space Shuttles they were only supose to fly 100 times. Yes they are an aging fleet and do need repair each time they land. At one point they had a escape module built into the orignal design but some idiot decided it was going to make them to heavy so it was removed. No it would not have helped the crew of STS 107 but if something were to happen closer to the ground I think it would have helped. They knew when they were still in space about the problems and did nothing.

I know about this first hand as I know a gentelman who works for NASA and is planning an taking a trip to the ISS sometime here not sure when now that the Shuttles have been delayed until possibility March of next year. And as for the ISS the Pres wants is done by 2010 so that they can retire the Shuttles but in retrospect there is no way we can do that if we only do three trips a year to the ISS. Now for the new planes they are trying to build. Can someone please tell me how they are going to be big enough to do the same jobs the Shuttles are doing now? What will happen to the Science part of the trips? What will happen to the Space Program?

I am sorry for my ranting here but I think the government should really sit down and think about what the Space Program means to many of us. Joe if you want to delete this I will understand. I am just one voice, one lonely Astronomer with a opinion.

Thats just my 2 cents.

Becky

[NatureDevil]

Stargazer,

I completly agree with you on everything you said. I follow politics as much as I can (as I stated before I tend to be very conservative) and I think whenever politics gets involved with something, be it the space travel or housing or even education to some degrees, everyone except politicians lose.

I think the government needs less power, and less control. The majority of people tend to ignore the importance of astronomical exploration, as well as any field of science for that matter. Without knowledge, you have nothing. As a race of humans, we need to explore everything we can and learn as much as we can about the world around us. Putting missile launching weapons and spygear in space seems to be more important than learning about it, but then again, what are you gonna do?

Maybe that is why I liek Star Trek so much. Science fiction with a little political and ethical fiction as well.

NatureDevil

[stargazer]

Well Guys,

I truely feel that this Government was set up in the beginning to be For the People and By the People. But somewhere down the line something was changed and we no longer allow the People to decide what is best for this Country. I think we should take it back to those days and let the Poeple decide what is good for everyone and vote on what is going to happen. If Pluto was the only Planet we have not gone to yet then I say Lets Go. Lets learn more about the smallest Planet in our Solar System. If my dream comes true and I get the Observatory and a grant to study I think I would def study the Planets. To learn more of the Atmosphere, its Orbits, and anything else I could.

This is just my 2 cents and opinion.

Becky

[NatureDevil]

How does somebody get a grant?

I have heard that I could (1) get a grant to buy a telescope, (2) get a grant to help turn a car into an elecxtric one (more for the fun of it and challenge and saving gas than a hippie thing), and (3) get a grant to produce an album.

If any of those are true, I want in!!! I never know how to research these things.

NatureDevil

[stargazer]

Hey Brian,

You have to apply to the Government to get these grants. But they are very hard to get. They only give out a small number a year.

B

[NatureDevil]

Yeah, but where do you apply? How do you apply? It's like looking for a job, or trying to buy a used car.

NatureDevil

[stargazer]

Hi Brian,

If you put in Astronomical Grants into a search engine you will find a bunch but be very careful. I did look at one, here is the URL for it.

www.nsf.gov/mps/vgn_bah/output/program_page/1,3120,1504,00.html

Now remember they only give out so many a year and you have to prove what ypu are doing is the same as the grant. You have to send in some info I think once a month as to what you are doing research on. I am going to wait until I have the 20" done before I apply for one. I do know of a gentelman who got 1,500 to build a new dome to do comet research. He got it but had to turn in his info. You also have to apply every year for them. let me know if this URL works for yu if not I will get another one for you. Just read the info very carefully.

B

[NatureDevil]

Bam. Thanks. I'm gonna dig around in it for a bit and see what I can find.

NatureDevil

[stargazer]

Brian,

Good Luck. Let us know what you find out.

B

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Pluto Mission Arrives at NASA for Testing

(Jun 13, 2005) All the planets in our solar system have been visited by a spacecraft, except one... Pluto. The spacecraft that will complete the collection, New Horizons, arrived at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center for pre-flight testing. If all goes well, New Horizons will launch atop a Lockheed Martin Atlas V rocket in January 2006, and reach Pluto and its moon Charon in 2015. The spacecraft will remain at Goddard for the next three months, where technicians will put it through a range of tests to make sure it's ready to ride a rocket.


More here at Universe Today: www.universetoday.com/am/publish/new_horizons_testing.html?1362005

---------------

2015...long time away, but I'm glad it's getting the go ahead.

[Maddad]

Actually, it's only ten years. Consider that the Voyagers have been in flight for what, 27 years? I'll probably live to see the spacecraft reach Pluto and send back high resolution photos. Shoot, I'll probably be downloading them at the same time NASA is.

[stargazer]

I say its about time we went to Pluto. I cant wat to see what happens. Would love to see the pics of what Pluto really looks like other then a blob.

B

[Maddad]

Agreed.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

The Chicago Astronomer added to the Pluto mission registry

I bid hail to the Plutonians and all species in between...

I think that this is quite cool.

[stargazer]

Hey Joe I did this about a week ago and I got number 64597 and Cj got the next one,.


This is the third one my name is on. I am on Temple 1, was on Cosmos, and now Pluto. I even did a few freinds so were all going.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

A Historic Space Mission To the Third Zone Nears Launch

Cape Canaveral FL (SPX) Dec 07, 2005
Next month, NASA hopes to launch one of the most historic space exploration missions it has ever mounted. The mission is called New Horizons.
The objectives of the New Horizons mission are to make the first reconnaissance of planet Pluto (the only unexplored planet) and its moons, and to then explore onward, into the vast, ancient, and icy disk of other bodies that Pluto orbits with on the frontier of our planetary system-the so-called Kuiper Belt. New Horizons represents almost 17 years of work by the scientific community to finally complete the reconnaissance of our planetary system.

The Kuiper Belt where Pluto orbits is often called the "Third Zone" of our planetary system, for it lies beyond both the inner zone of rocky planets like Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, and the middle zone containing the giant planets-Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

Story here: www.spacedaily.com/news/outerplanets-05u.html

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Pluto mission comes with risk

Threat is small of plutonium release


CAPE CANAVERAL - NASA plans to stage the world's first mission to Pluto next month, launching a plutonium-powered spacecraft on an Atlas 5 rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Destined to explore the icy edges of the solar system, the probe is equipped with a generator that will convert heat from the decay of 24 pounds of plutonium into electricity to heat and run the spacecraft systems.

Government studies show that the mission poses more danger to Central Florida than a typical rocket launch. So much so, in fact, that White House approval -- which is expected early next year -- is required to give the go-ahead for launch.

There is a 1 in 350 chance that a launch area accident could release radioactive plutonium somewhere in a six-county area surrounding Cape Canaveral, according to a review of public records and interviews with government officials. Anti-nuclear activists worry about worst-case scenarios spelled out in safety reports, saying an accident could devastate nearby communities, although the studies indicate the likelihood of such a disaster is about 1 in 18 million.

The plutonium fuel aboard the spacecraft is not the highly explosive material used in nuclear weapons. It is a different grade only dangerous to people if reduced to fine dust. The maximum dose a person might be exposed to in most accident scenarios would be similar to seven or eight medical X-rays, according to the government studies.

Another nuclear generator was aboard the Apollo 13 lunar lander, which served as a lifeboat for three astronauts when their 1970 mission was aborted on the way to the moon. The astronauts ultimately returned to Earth safely in the command module, which was seriously damaged when an oxygen tank exploded.

Their lunar lander re-entered Earth's atmosphere separately, plunging into the South Pacific Ocean. It came to rest at the bottom of the 20,000-foot-deep Tonga Trench. Extensive sampling of the remote ocean area showed no plutonium was released.

Full story here: www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051204/NEWS02/512040341

=======
I wasn't aware of the Apollo 13 nuke powered equipment.

Plutonium on a mission to Pluto...there a pun in there somewhere...

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

NASA Sets Sights On First Pluto Mission

Laurel MD (SPX) Dec 20, 2005
NASA is preparing to launch the first spacecraft to distant Pluto and its moon Charon. The January 2006 launch of New Horizons will complete the initial reconnaissance of the planets in the solar system.
"New Horizons will study a unique world, and we can only imagine what we may learn.

The compact, 1,050-pound piano-sized probe will launch aboard an Atlas V expendable launch vehicle, followed by a boost from a kick-stage solid propellant motor. New Horizons will be the fastest spacecraft ever launched, reaching lunar orbit distance in just nine hours and passing Jupiter 13 months later.

Launch before Feb. 3 allows New Horizons to fly past Jupiter in early 2007 and use the planet's gravity as a slingshot toward Pluto. The Jupiter flyby trims the trip to Pluto by five years and provides opportunities to test the spacecraft's instruments and flyby capabilities on the Jupiter system.

More here: www.spacedaily.com/news/outerplanets-05w.html
=======

Great to have the Chicago Astronomer name among the many in this mission... ;D

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

The Ice Dwarf Cometh

This is a nice piece on the New Horizons mission...

Moffett Field CA (SPX) Dec 23, 2005
Pluto is one of the most mysterious objects in our solar system. Ten thousand times fainter than the eye can see, and a hundred times smaller than Mars in the night sky, Pluto has never been investigated up-close by a spacecraft. The best image of Pluto, obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope, is just a crude grouping of bright and dark pixels.
"[Pluto] raises images of something very dark, far away, and cold," says Andy Dantzler, director of NASA's solar system division. "Actually, Pluto is a treasure trove of scientific discoveries just waiting to be uncovered. It's different from the inner rocky planets; it's different from the outer gaseous planets. And as such, it holds many clues as to how the solar system was formed, and also, perhaps, how other systems are formed."

After launch, the New Horizons spacecraft will speed away from Earth at 8 miles per second, reaching the moon in about 8 hours (the Apollo missions took several days to cover this same distance). In early 2007, a flyby of Jupiter will increase the spacecraft's speed by an additional 2.5 miles per second, and also provide an opportunity to test the spacecraft instruments. Depending on the launch date, the spacecraft could reach Pluto by mid-2015.

The spacecraft has seven science instruments -- three are cameras, while three others will measure solar wind, space dust, and energetic particles. A radio instrument will measure Pluto's surface temperatures and atmosphere.

"It's a scientific wonderland for atmospheric scientists," says New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern, of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. "[Pluto's] atmosphere is escaping like a comet, but on a planetary scale. Its surface, which is only 40 degrees above absolute zero, is covered in exotic ices."

The spacecraft also has a CD-ROM inscribed with about half a million names of people who signed up on the Internet. A nuclear power supply will generate electricity during the long mission.

Full story here: www.spacedaily.com/news/outerplanets-05x.html

==========

I wonder if the Plutonians will read the CD and find the Chicago Astronomer name on it. Let's hope we are still here and they may join the Chicago Astronomer family... ;D

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

New Horizons Remains On Course For January 17 Launch To Pluto

Boulder CO (SPX) Jan 09, 2006
The past two weeks have been pretty quite for our intrepid spacecraft. For the most part, she has slept, un-powered, while launch vehicle and ground system preparations have continued. About the only real action came on January 3rd, when the final flight parameter loads were installed in the twinned computers New Horizons carries within her hull.

The next two weeks will be more exciting. Our launch date remains on course for 17 January. That's just over a week from now. And whether we fly that day, or the next, or the next—in fact—whenever we launch, the mighty Atlas V//STAR-48 propulsion stack will hurl New Horizons to a speed greater than any spacecraft has ever reached when leaving Earth.

Indeed, New Horizons will be traveling so fast after launch that she will cross the orbit of the Moon just 9 hours after crossing over the Atlantic beaches in Florida. That roughly 0.3 day trip make Apollo's 3 day lunar trek's seem almost quaint.

Stay tuned for more updates on this page as launch approaches and we get under way with the flight mission.

Full story here: www.spacedaily.com/news/New_Horizons_Remains_On_Course_For_January_17_Launch_To_Pluto.html

===========

Wow...Reaching the Moon is just 9 Hours! This is incredible and should be highlighted!...

[starbux]

Indeed, New Horizons will be traveling so fast after launch that she will cross the orbit of the Moon just 9 hours after crossing over the Atlantic beaches in Florida. That roughly 0.3 day trip make Apollo's 3 day lunar trek's seem almost quaint...

Wow...Reaching the Moon is just 9 Hours! This is incredible and should be highlighted!...

Of course, a spacecraft intending to go into orbit around the moon would probably need to go a bit slower than that.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

NASA's Pluto Mission Draws Three Dozen Protesters

CAPE CANAVERAL - About three dozen people assembled at the spaceport Saturday to protest this month's planned launch of a plutonium-powered space probe bound for Pluto.

The demonstrators made speeches, sang songs and carried signs with messages such as "NASA puts us all at risk!" and "Even mousetraps malfunction. Is a mini-Chernobyl in our community's future?" in opposition of the nuclear generator being used to power the New Horizons spacecraft.

The protesters say a rocket explosion could expose people, animals and the environment to dangerous doses of radioactive plutonium. Many of the people who gathered outside Cape Canaveral Air Force Station alleged the mission is not just for scientific gain, but also to test the nuclear generator for use in space weapons.

"The public is tired of being lied to," said Maria Telesca-Whipple, a married mother of two from Rockledge and an organizer with the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space. "We have no problem with the peaceful exploration of space, but we don't think that's what plutonium in space is all about."

In general, the demonstrators doubt government safety studies and disaster planning. They disputed NASA and Department of Energy estimates that there is a 1-in-350 chance of a plutonium release if something goes wrong during the preparation and launch of the Atlas 5 rocket, which is set for Jan. 17.

The protesters said NASA has downplayed the worst-case scenarios in its own studies and focused on statistics that make the risk sound less dire. However, several protesters said that even if the government's risk numbers are accurate, the risk is too high to make the mission to explore Pluto worth the extra danger. As evidence there is danger, the protesters cited government safety notices calling for people to go indoors and turn off the air conditioning if the rocket explodes.

Full story here: www.space.com/news/ft_060109_newhorizons_protest.html

==========

[Rocketman]

dumb

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

New Horizons Pluto Probe Ready For Tuesday Launch

Cape Canaveral FL (SPX) Jan 14, 2006
New Horizons is now well inside T-100 hours from our planned launch time on Tuesday. Subject to the approval of the Launch Readiness Review (LRR) to be held at KSC on Sunday, and the weather, we will be proceeding toward our planned launch on Tuesday.
Today the last spacecraft preps, red tag removals, etc. were completed at Launch Complex 41 here at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). And back at the Mission Operations Center (MOC) at APL, just a few hundred meters from where New Horizons was built, the flight control team completed final countdown rehears activities today in conjunction with the Deep Space Network (DSN).

The flight control team, under the direction of Mission Ops Manager Alice Bowman also completed a series of software table loads and load verifications to make sure New Horizons has the right initialization values for its clocks, its guidance system, and other subsystem configuration items.

New Horizons is now operating, as it will in flight, off its flight RTG power supply. In an operational sense, we are now very much in a flight mode. From now until the end of the mission, perhaps as long as 20+ years from now, our spacecraft is powered.

New Horizons is now ready to fly to Pluto. And the geometric window is open. The launch vehicle is approaching a similar state of readiness. If the weather is suitable, we expect to roll out to the pad on Monday, and to then count down toward launch on Tuesday.