HONG KONG: Last month, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft made its mark on history as it zipped by dwarf planet Pluto and captured never before seen, high resolution images of the planet. Now, NASA just announced the probe’s next destination after completing its successful Pluto mission.
NASA’s announcement reveals that New Horizons’ next target is a small icy object located in the Kuiper Belt called 2014 MU69 that is located about 1 billion miles away from Pluto.
However, the space agency is yet to approve this extended mission for a second flyby which will probably occur in 2019. NASA has already chosen to explore 2014 MU69 for New Horizons’ next target however, a detailed assessment will be conducted first before any green light could be given as part of the regular mission review process.
NASA mission scientists confirm that this extended mission will be less expensive than the Pluto mission as this new mission could offer some new and exciting insights about what lies beyond the solar system.
To date, New Horizons still has extra fuel that can allow for this Kuiper Belt flyby where its operating and power system can still function for more years including its communication system that can transmit data even beyond the dwarf planet.
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