What is New Horizons current mission?

New Horizons is a NASA mission to study the dwarf planet Pluto, its moons, and other objects in the Kuiper Belt, a region of the solar system that extends from about 30 AU, near the orbit of Neptune, to about 50 AU from the Sun.

Where is the New Horizons probe now?

As the New Horizons spacecraft hurtles out towards interstellar space, it has now reached an historical milestone. On April 17, 2021, New Horizons passed 50 astronomical units, or 50 times Earth’s distance from the Sun.

Why is Arrokoth not round?

In an alternative hypothesis formulated by researchers of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Max Planck Institute in 2020, the flattening of Arrokoth may have resulted from the process of sublimation-driven mass loss over a timescale of several million years after the merging of its lobes.

Will New Horizons pass Voyager?

Interestingly, although New Horizons was launched far faster than any outbound probe before it, it will never overtake either Voyager 1 or Voyager 2 as the most distant human-made object from Earth, thanks to gravity assists they received from Jupiter and Saturn.

Are we still in contact with Voyager 1?

But farther—much farther—Voyager 1, one of the oldest space probes and the most distant human-made object from Earth, is still doing science. But even as it drifts farther and farther from a dimming sun, it’s still sending information back to Earth, as scientists recently reported in The Astrophysical Journal.

Is Ultima Thule a planet?

Ultima Thule is much smaller than the dwarf planet, spanning just 22 miles (35 km) in its longest dimension. And New Horizons gave Ultima Thule a much closer shave than it did Pluto, cruising a mere 2,200 miles (3,540 km) above the small object’s frigid surface.

Why is Ultima Thule important?

Ultima Thule lies in the Kuiper Belt, a vast cosmic disc left over from the days when planets first formed. “It is important to us in planetary science because this region of the solar system, being so far from the Sun, preserves the original conditions from four and a half billion years ago.

Can Voyager 1 come back?

How long can Voyager 1 and 2 continue to function? Voyager 1 is expected to keep its current suite of science instruments on through 2021. Voyager 2 is expected to keep its current suite of science instruments on through 2020.