NASA Social Media Conducts Web Chat on New Horizons Pluto Mission at the Applied Physics Laboratory

POT. NEW HORIZONS PLUTO. JASON TOWNSEND. NASA SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM. MIKE RYSCHKEWITSCH. SPACE EXPLORATION. EXPLORATION. JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY. APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY. LAUREL, MARYLAND. JIM GREEN. DIRECTOR OF PLANETARY SCIENCE AT NASA. Alan stern. SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE. INSTITUTE. HERSMAN. MISSION SYSTEMS ENGINEER. JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY. KIMMEN CO. IT'S COHUSSY HUSSEY. JET PROPULSION LABORATORY. PASADENA, CALIFORNIA. HUSSEY. ENNICO. NEW HORIZONS 37 NEW HORIZONS. RAOERB. EUROPE. CARON. KUIPER BELT. NEPTUNE. ELLIPTICAL. PARTICULAR OF AOE KHREUB. ECLIPTIC. ASTRONOMICAL. HABITANT. POPULATION. SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE. TELESCOPE NEW HORIZONS. PUPPET PUPPET. TITURIERO TIPOTERERO. PUPPETEER. TITURIEROTITURIERO. TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST. \M\M FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE.

AND TAKEOFF OF NASA'S NEW HORIZONS SPACECRAFT AND BEYOND. \M\M HELLO. WELCOME TO THE APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY HERE IN LAUREL, MARYLAND. TODAY WILL BE A DEEP DIVE INTO PLUTO AND NASA'S NEW HORIZONS MISSION. WE ARE ALSO WITH OUR FRIENDS WHO FOLLOW IT ONLINE AT THE LOWELL OBSERVATORY IN FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA, WHERE PLUTO WAS DISCOVERED MANY, MANY YEARS AGO. FOR THOSE OF YOU JOINING US ONLINE, WE'LL LOOK AT THE SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND SOME OF THE NEW THINGS NEW HORIZONS WILL BE DOING FOR THE PLUTO FLIGHTWAY ON JULY 14. IF YOU STILL ONLINE THE CONVERSATION IS TAKING PLACE WITH #NASASOCIAL.

LET'S TALK ABOUT THE MISSION USING #PLUTOFLYBY. YOU CAN JOIN US AT ATNASANEW HORIZONS ON TWITTER AND FACEBOOK. WITHOUT FURTHER PREAMBLE, WE'LL JUMP RIGHT TO THAT HERE. THE FIRST TO WELCOME US TODAY, FROM THE APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY, IS CHIEF OF SPACE EXPLORATION MIKE RYSCHKEWITSCH. GOOD AFTERNOON. WE ARE HAPPY TO HAVE YOU HERE AT THE JOHNS HOPKINS APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY. I WOULD LIKE TO TELL YOU A LITTLE ABOUT THE TRIP TO THE JOHNS HOPKINS APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY SPACE. IT REALLY BEGINS DURING THE DEPTHS OF WORLD WAR II. THE LABORATORY WAS FOUNDED TO WORK ON PROXIMITY USES FOR NAVAL ANTI-AIRCRAFT WEAPONS.

THAT INVENTION WAS CONSIDERED AS ONE OF THE THREE TECHNOLOGICALLY IMPORTANT IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR, WITH ATOMIC BOMB AND RADAR. JAMES VAN ALLEN, WHO CALLS THE NAME OF THE RADIATION BELTS. AND JIM GREEN, ONE OF THE STUDENTS, IN A COUPLE OF MINUTES, STARTED USING THE GERMAN B-2S BROUGHT HERE AFTER THE YEAR TO BEGIN THE EXPLORATION OF SPACE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE ELECTRONICS THEY HAD DEVELOPED FOR THESE ANTI-AIR PROCESSES AND THE EXPLORATION BEGAN WITH THE BOTH UNDERSTANDING OF SPACE. A FEW MORE YEARS, SOME OF THE SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS IN THE LABORATORY WERE FOLLOWING THE SPUTNIK AND LISTENING TO THE RADIO SIGNALS IN REAL LIFE, THEY COULD ACTUALLY FOLLOW THE SATELLITE BY LISTENING BY WORKING ON THE DOPPLER SHIFT OF THE RADIO SIGNALS.

AND THEN THEY HAD A BRAINSTORM THAT THEY COULD CHANGE THAT PROCESS. IF THEY WERE ON THE GROUND AND THEY COULD FIND OUT WHERE THE SATELLITE WAS, THEY COULD FIND OUT WHERE SOME POINT ON THE GROUND WAS. THAT LED TO BE ABLE TO SOLVE A CRITICAL PROBLEM FOR THE NAVY AND NAVIGATION. THAT REALLY GOT US INTO THE SPACE BUSINESS. AND I'M NOT GOING TO GO THROUGH ALL THE DOZENS AND DOZENS OF SPACE MISSIONS THAT†...SPACESHIPS WE'VE LAUNCHED IN BETWEEN. I WILL ONLY TALK ABOUT SOME CURRENT THINGS. WE DO A LOT OF HELIOPHYSICS AND THE PLANETARY SIDE. WE ARE IN THE FULL FULL OF THE SOLO PLEX MISSION.

YOU MIGHT WANT TO LOOK AT THAT. WE WILL GO WITHIN 10 SOLAR ROI TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE CORONA WAS HEAT AND THE SOLAR WINDS ARE GENERATED. A LITTLE CLOSER TO HOME, WE HAVE FINISHED THE MESSENGER'S MISSION TO MERCURY. We had a really wonderful and successful

mission

. UNFORTUNATELY, OUR FUEL SUPPLY WAS FINITE AND WE DID WHAT WE CALLED THE SPLAT ON THE SURFACE A FEW WEEKS AGO. MERCURY AND MESSENGER ARE A BIT OF Omen. WE KNEW A LOT ABOUT MERCURY. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PLANET WHICH WE KNEW NOTHING ABOUT. YOU HAVE A HIGH RESOLUTION VERSION ON YOUR SCREEN BUT WE HAVE MERCURY AND A LOT OF DETAILED KNOWLEDGE.

THAT IS JUST THE VISUAL REPRESENTATION. BECAUSE THE SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES OF WATER ICE AT THE POLES AND CRATERS, THINGS LIKE THAT, ARE POSITIVELY AMAZING. I AM SO EXCITED TO BE HERE WITH YOU. I HOPE YOU FOLLOW US IN THE NEXT WEEKS. BECAUSE WHAT WE ARE GOING TO LEARN ABOUT PLUTO DURING THE NEXT WEEKS AND MONTHS AS ALL THE DATA IS DOWNLOADED REALLY EXCITES ME. IT LOOKS LIKE THIS RIGHT NOW. As we complete that, it's going to be really amazing. SO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE THIS AFTERNOON. THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING US AND SHARING OUR ADVENTURE WITH THE WORLD.

WELCOME. WONDERFUL FOR SETTING THE MOOD A LITTLE. WE HAVE A QUICK VIDEO TO INTRODUCE PLUTO. THERE IS A MYSTERIOUS AREA FAR FROM OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. IT IS A REGION OF ICE WORLDS. SOME LONELY, SOME WITH MOONS. THEIR FAMILY NAMES. UES AIR. HOLE MAYONNAISE. THEY HAVE CLUES OF ALL OUR ORIGINS AND THE FIRST OF THESE WORLDS AND THE ONE WE WILL REACH IN 2015 IS THE KIN OF THE KUIPER BELT, PLUTO. THE LONG JOURNEY OF NASA'S NEW HORIZONS MISSION BEGAN IN 2006 ABOARD AMERICA'S BIGGEST, BADEST ROCKET, EQUIPPED WITH EVERY BOOST CONVENIENT. WE HAVE A VERY LIGHT SPACECRAFT AND WE PURCHASED A VERY LARGE LAUNCH VEHICLE.

AND THE COMBINATION IS FIERCE. BUT IN SOME SENSE, IT ALL STARTED IN 1930, WITH 24-YEAR-OLD CLYDE TOM VALUE, FRESH OFF THE FARM IN KANSAS, BUT WILLING TO SPEND LONG HOURS SCANNING STAR FIELDS TO FIND THE MOVING POINT OF LIGHT. HUMANITY'S FIRST LOOK OF PLUTO. IT STARTED WITH A 6-YEAR-OLD BOY IN LOVE WITH SCIENCE WHO GROWN UP TO LEAD A TEAM OF BRILLIANT RESEARCHERS AND ENGINEERS WITH PERSISTENCE AND DECADES OF CONSTRUCTION AND TESTING, A RACE AGAINST TIME JUST TO GET TO THE LAUNCHING SHOVEL. EXPLORING THE OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM, BECAUSE IT'S SO FAR, IT TAKES A LONG TIME. IT REQUIRES A LOT OF PATIENCE, A LOT OF DEDICATION, A LOT OF PERSEVERANCE.

BUT IT'S A BORDER. Assuming all goes well on Pluto, NASA could extend the adventure beyond the KUIPER belt to the mysterious third zone. THIS MAY BE THE ONLY CHANCE IN MY LIFE THAT WE WILL TAKE THE SPACECRAFT AND LOOK CLOSELY AT ONE OF THE KUIPER BELT OBJECTS. DECEMBER 6, 2014. NEW HORIZONS WAKES UP FOR THE LAST TIME FROM HIBERNATION. NEW HORIZONS IS PROGRESSING TOWARDS PLUTO AT A PHENOMENAL RHYTHM. WE CAN'T WAIT FOR IT TO GET THERE. JANUARY 27, 2015, SINCE MONTHS OF CLOSE SCIENCE BEGAN. JULY 14, 2015, THE LONG JOURNEY OF NEW HORIZONS, 3 BILLION MILES, NINE YEARS OF FLIGHT AND 85 YEARS OF SPECULATION ON THE CLIMAXES OF PLUTO IN ONE DAY OF APPROACH AND OVERFLY.

WE ARE AROUND THIRD BASE AND HEADING HOME. THE DREAM, THE ADVENTURE, THE INDICATIONS OF THE DISCOVERY. THAT'S WHAT MAKES 2015 THE YEAR OF PLUTO. EVERYTHING WELL. SOME OF THOSE FACES YOU SEE ARE GOING TO LOOK VERY FAMILIAR TO YOU BECAUSE NOW WE ARE GOING TO HEAR FROM THEM. THE FIRST TO TALK A LITTLE ABOUT NASA'S PLANETARY SCIENCE AND HOW THIS MISSION REACHES THESE NEW HORIZONS IS DR. JIM GREEN FROM NASA HEADQUARTERS. JIM? THANK YOU VERY MUCH, JASON. SO THIS IS AN EXCITING MOMENT, OBVIOUSLY. PLUTO WAS A BEAUTIFUL PLANET. WHAT WE CALL, WE DON'T CARE, DWARF PLANET. IT IS A BODY WORTHY OF INVESTIGATING.

IT IS THE ARCHETYPE OF A NEW SET OF OBJECTS. IMAGINE THAT IN YOUR LIFE WE HAVE DISCOVERED A COMPLETELY NEW REGION TO EXPLORE IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM, THAT THIRD ZONE. WHAT DO WE WANT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT IT AS A THIRD ZONE? TERRESTRIAL PLANET? MERCURY, VENUS, EARTH, MARS. AND EVEN THE ASTEROID BELT. THAT IS AN AREA WHERE THERE IS MATERIAL TRYING TO BECOME A PLANET BUT JUPITER WON'T LET IT. GRAVITY CONTINUES TO SEPARATE THEM. AND THEN THE SECOND AREA, THE GAS GIANTS. JUPITER, SATURN, URANUS AND NEPTUNE. AND NOW PLUTO IS PART OF MAYBE 10,000, 20,000, 30,000 SIMILAR OBJECTS. FOR THE FIRST TIME WE ARE GOING TO FLY BY PLUTO AND LOOK WELL.

NOW, I'M OFTEN ASKED, WHY ARE WE JUST GOING THROUGH IT? AS MIKE MENTIONED, WHEN HE TALKED ABOUT MERCURY, WE FLEW BY MERCURY ONCE. THAT IS A RECOGNITION. ONCE WE SEE WHAT THE BODIES LOOK LIKE AND MAKE PLANS TO RETURN, THEN WE WANT TO ORBIT. THEN OF COURSE THE NEXT THING IS ORBITING GIVES US HIGH RESOLUTION INFORMATION WHICH GIVES US INFORMATION TO LAND. AND THEN ROVE AND THEN MAYBE RETURN SAMPLES. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE MOON, WE FLY BY IT, WE ORBIT IT, WE LAND, WE WALK. OUR CLOSEST OBJECT TO EARTH. WE FLY ON MARS MORE THAN 50 YEARS AGO.

WE ORBIT. MANY ORBITRATORS. NOW WE HAVE SURFACE LANDERS AND ORBITORS. AND THE NEXT STEP, OF COURSE, IS WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO BRING SAMPLES. SO PLUTO, HERE WE GO. THIS IS A FLIGHT MISSION. A HISTORICAL MISSION WE WANT TO SEE WELL. THAT WILL ALLOW US TO FIND OUT WHAT THOSE NEXT STEPS ARE. AND I THINK THIS OBJECT IS GOING TO BE SO EXCITING THAT WE ARE GOING TO WANT TO COME BACK. AND I HOPE WE CAN COME BACK IN OUR LIFETIMES, MAYBE ORBITATED. THAT WOULD BE A TRULY SPECTACULAR MISSION. BUT NOW WE ARE ON THE WAY.

AS ALAN MENTIONED EARLIER IN THE VIDEO, WE ARE MORE THAN THIRD BASE. WE'RE MOVING FAST, ON THE WAY HOME. AND IT'S GOING TO BE A TRUE HOME FOR US. SO I THINK I HAVE TIME FOR A FEW MORE QUESTIONS, IF YOU HAVE ANY. EVERYTHING WELL. THOSE WHO ARE IN THE ROOM, WAIT FOR A MICROPHONE. OTHERWISE WE HAVE QUESTIONS FROM THE LOWELL LINE. WE ARE ALSO TAKING YOUR QUESTIONS USING #ASKNASA IF YOU'RE STILL AT HOME. IF NEW HORIZONS SHOWS THAT THERE IS WATER ON PLUTO OR INSIDE PLUTO, DOES IT MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE TO PLUTO'S STATURE? THE STAGE OF THE CONTAMINATING FINGER IN MY MIND AS A SCIENTIST IS ALREADY THERE.

IT IS ALREADY AN OBJECT WORTH EXAMINING IN GREAT DETAIL. YOU KNOW, THE MORE WE SEE AND ANALYZE THE DATA FROM OUR MISSIONS, THE MORE WE REALIZE THE IMPORTANCE THAT WATER PLAYS NOT ONLY IN LIFE BUT IN ALL OUR AREAS OF YOUR SOLAR SYSTEM. AND I THINK THE KUIPER BELT IS FULL OF WATER ICE AND FULL OF OTHER VOLATILES AND MAYBE IT PLAYS A VERY IMPORTANT ROLE IN FEEDING LIFE HERE ON EARTH. WE NOW KNOW FROM OUR MODELS THAT THE PLANETS WHERE THEY ARE NOW, PARTICULARLY THE GAS GIANTS, ARE NOT IN THE PLACE WHERE THEY WERE ORIGINALLY FORMED.

AND JUPITER'S GRAVITY PUSHED THEM VERY EARLY INTO THE SOLAR SYSTEM. THAT TOOK THE KUIPER BELT AREA AND TOOK IT IN, BROUGHT THE COMETS, THE ASTEROIDS AND THE COUPE BELT OBJECTS AND BROUGHT WATER WHICH THEN, OF COURSE, HERE ON EARTH IS SO ESSENTIAL FOR LIFE TO GROW. We are just beginning to realize the importance of the KUIPER Belt objects. AND THEREFORE I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF WE SEE WATER ICE. I WON'T BE SURPRISED IF WE SEE FEATURES THAT TELL US A LOT ABOUT HOW THESE OBJECTS ARE PUT TOGETHER. AND THAT'S GOING TO BE CRITICAL TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.

WONDERFUL. OUR NEXT QUESTION COMES FROM LOWELL OBSERVATORY. HELLO. MY NAME IS CARMEN AUSTIN, NASA LOWELL SOCIAL OBSERVATORY. I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE SPEED OF THE NEW HORIZONS SPACESHIP. SO I KNOW IT HAS BEEN MENTIONED TODAY WE LIKE TO SAY THAT NEW HORIZONS WAS THE FASTEST SPACESHIP EVER LAUNCHED. AND THAT SOUNDS WONDERFUL. BUT I HAVE HEARD THAT THE HELIO 2 PRO IS THE FASTEST MAN-MADE SPACECRAFT OR VEHICLE OF ANY KIND. WHICH IS REALLY THE FASTEST AND WHY DO WE SAY THEY ARE BOTH THE FASTEST? WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE? WELL, REALLY, THE LITTLE VIDEO TOLD US TO STRIP THE ATLAS.

WE TAKE OUT AS MUCH POWER AS POSSIBLE. AND AT LAUNCH IT WAS THE FASTEST SPACESHIP. BUT THESE SPACESHIPS MOVE THROUGH OUR SOLAR SYSTEM TO GET WHERE THEY NEED TO GO, THERE'S ALL KINDS OF GRAVITY, ALL KINDS OF THINGS WE HAVE TO DO TO CHANGE THEIR SPEED, CHANGE THEIR DIRECTION, TO BE ABLE TO GET TO THEIR LOCATION. IN FACT, HELIOS 1 AND 2 HAVE MANY SPACECRAFT. THEY NO LONGER EXIST. THEY NO LONGER HAVE ANY DATA. THEY COME BACK AND THEY'VE BEEN DEAD FOR PROBABLY 20 YEARS. SO WE NEED TO KEEP LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE. IN FACT, NEW HORIZONS IS CURRENTLY THE FASTEST SPACECRAFT IN OUR CURRENT OPERATIONAL FLEET, WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. EVERYTHING WELL. NEXT QUESTION FROM THE ROOM HERE. OTHER QUESTIONS? WHAT WAS THE TIME PERIOD, WHAT IS THE SCALE OF ALCOHOL FROM DREAM TO ARRIVE? SO IT TOOK MANY, MANY YEARS. I wasn't involved in the first part. BUT ALAN WAS. SO PLEASE KEEP THIS QUESTION FOR ALAN, BECAUSE I'M SURE HE WILL TELL YOU HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS TO FINALLY GET THIS MISSION IN THE BOOKS. BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF OUR MISSIONS REALLY TAKE A LONG TIME TO MATURE THE CONCEPT, TO DO IT WELL AND MAKE IT COMPETITIVE SO THAT NASA CAN THEN SELECT THE BEST IDEA.

THIS IS REALLY A DIFFICULT BUSINESS FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE. BUT WHEN WE MAKE A SELECTION, YOU CAN BE GUARANTEED THAT THESE ARE THE MAIN MISSIONS THAT HUMANS HAVE PERFORMED IN THESE AREAS. AND NEW HORIZONS IS WITHOUT A DOUBT IN THAT CATEGORY. EVERYTHING WELL. OTHERQUESTION FROM LOWELL. Hello. GOOD AFTERNOON. THIS IS MICHAEL KAISER FROM THE NASA SOCIAL IN LOWELL. THEN MY QUESTION HAS TO DO WITH THE SPIKE TRAFFIC OF MY INSTRUMENTS AT NASA. CAN WE DETERMINE THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF PLUTO? THAT'S ANOTHER GREAT QUESTION FOR ALAN. I DON'T WANT TO TAKE ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS FROM YOU BECAUSE YOU REALLY HAVE THE DETAILS OF ALL THE INSTRUMENTS.

So let's save it for him. EVERYTHING WELL. OTHER QUESTIONS IN THE ROOM? HELLO, DR. GREEN. YOU PLAYED IT A LITTLE YESTERDAY AT THE SMITHSONIAN, BUT I KNOW THE MISSION IS 200 WATTS BECAUSE OF THE PELLETS. HOW LONG COULD THE MISSION LAST? WHAT HAS IT BEEN MORE THAN 25 YEARS? So what makes a

mission

last? IT HAS TO HAVE POWER. NEW HORIZONS BRINGS ITS OWN POWER WITH IT. HOW IT DOES IT IS THIS ELEMENT HERE IN THE BACK OF THE SPACECRAFT IS A RADIOISOTOPE THERMAL GENERATOR. AND YOU SAY THAT YOU USE PLUTONIUM 238 IN AVA'S RIGHT PRODUCTS, ONE OF WHICH IS HUMAN YUM.

THEY REMOVE ALL ITS ELECTRONS. PUNCH. THAT CAN MAKE THINGS HEAT UP. WE TAKE THE HEAT FROM THE DECOMPOSITION OF PLUTONIUM AND CONVERTE IT INTO ELECTRICITY BY CHARGING BATTERIES AND USING THE BATTERIES. So as long as you take your own power, you will do very well. SO LIKE THE VOYAGERS, WHICH ALSO HAVE RADIOISOTOPE ENERGY SYSTEMS, THEY DECLINE OVER TIME. RIGHT NOW THE VOYAGERS ARE WORKING ON AN ISSUE OF 10 WATTS OR MORE. IT WILL BE SEVERAL DECADES BEFORE THE NEW HORIZONS REACH THE LOW WATT AREA. SO AS LONG AS THE SPACECRAFT IS HEALTHY, AS LONG AS ITS INSTRUMENTS CAN OPERATE WITH THE POWER AVAILABLE, IT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CONTINUE TO OPERATE.

THANK YOU. YOU BET. EVERYTHING WELL. OUR NEXT QUESTION COMES FROM LOWELL. THIS IS PAULINE AT NASA'S LOWELL SOCIAL OBSERVATORY. -- OR DO YOU THINK THERE'S A CHANCE THAT WITH ONE APPROACH WE WILL GET TOTALLY NEW IDEAS? WELL, YOU KNOW, FROM NASA'S PERSPECTIVE, AS I MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING, WE DON'T CARE WHAT WE CALL IT, PLANET, DWARF PLANET. BUT I HAVE TO TELL YOU THIS IS A FASCINATING BODY. I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM. YOU KNOW, PLUTO AND CHARON ARE PRETTY HUGE. THEY DO THIS DANCE AROUND THE CENTER OF GRAVITY. THE CENTER OF GRAVITY BETWEEN THE EARTH AND OUR MOON IS WELL WITHIN OUR EARTH.

AND IT SEEMS THAT THE MOON IS CONSTANTLY GIVEN AROUND THE EARTH. BUT THAT'S NOT ABOUT THAT. IT LOOKS MORE LIKE BINARY STARS WHERE YOU HAVE TWO COMPARABLE OBJECTS FIGHTING. AND THE MOONS, THE MOONS ARE SOMETIMES CHAOTICALLY DAMNED AND ALSO VERY FASCINATING. SO THIS SYSTEM IS LIKE NOTHING WE HAVE EVER SEEN. WHEN THAT HAPPENS, YOU ALWAYS WANT TO RETHINK WHAT YOU KNOW AND WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED. AND THEN YOU CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH NEW AND DIFFERENT IDEAS. SO LET'S SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. EVERYTHING WELL. ONE MORE QUESTION IN THE ROOM HERE. HEY, WITH WHAT YOU JUST SAID ABOUT THE CENTER OF GRAVITY BETWEEN PLUTO AND THE MOON, THAT WOULD INFER THAT THERE ARE SOME KIND OF STABLE ORBITS LIKE A LE GRUNGE POINT KIND OF THING.

COULD NEW HORIZONS INVESTIGATE WHAT'S HAPPENING THERE TOO? ABSOLUTELY. NEW HORIZONS, AS IT PROGRESS TOWARDS PLUTO IT IS CONSTANTLY SCANNING THE ENTIRE AREA. WE ARE ACTUALLY VERY LUCKY THAT PLUTO'S AXIS OF ROTATION IS MORE LIKE THE AIRPLANE OF THE PLANETS, OKAY. AND THEN THAT MEANS THEIR MOONS ARE SHOWN RIGHT IN FRONT OF US. THIS WAY WE CAN BETTER SEE THEIR POSITIONS, UNDERSTAND THEIR MASSES, UNDERSTAND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO EACH OTHER, HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW GRAVITATIONAL RESONANCES ARE ALLOWING THE MOONS TO EXIST IN THESE PLACES AND NOT IN OTHERS. SO ALL THE SCIENCE WILL BE DONE AS WE DO THIS FLIGHT AND GET THE DATA.

EVERYTHING WELL. ONE MORE QUESTION FROM LOWELL. AND LOWELL HAS NO MORE QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. VERY GOOD, THEN. LET'S GIVE APPLAUSE TO JIM. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY. MY PLEASURE. BELOW THE CHIEF INVESTIGATOR OF THE NEW HORIZONS MISSION, DR. ALAN STERN OF THE SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE. ALAN? HELLO EVERYONE. GOOD AFTERNOON. IS MIKE LIVE? CAN YOU HEAR IT? EXCELLENT. WELL, I'M EXCITED TO TELL YOU ABOUT NEW HORIZONS. AND I THANK JIM FOR PUTTING IT ALL INTO CONTEXT WITHIN NASA'S PLANETARY EXPLORATION PROGRAM. IF WE CAN TAKE THE FIRST STEP. GO AHEAD AND PUT THE FIRST SLIDE UP, DAVID.

THIS IS A CARTOON VIEW. IT STARTS VERY DOWN IN THE SUN. EACH OF THOSE TARGETS ARE THE MEAN SOLAR SYSTEM. YOU CAN'T EVEN SEE THE ORBITS OF THE EARTH AND MARS, MERCURY AND VENUS ON THIS SCALE. THIS IS TRULY AN EPIC JOURNEY. THROUGH OUR SOLAR SYSTEM TO THE FRONTIER OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE. AND TO THE VERY FRONTIER OF EXPLORATION. WE FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE GIANTS. GIANTS CALLED MARINER, FIRST ON MARS AND FIRST ON VENUS. FIRST TO THE MERCURY. GIANTS AS PIONEER, FIRST TO JUPITER AND SATURN. AND OF COURSE, THE STORY VOYAGER MISSION, FIRST TO URANUS AND FIRST TO NEPTUNE.

AND DAWN, FIRST IN THE SERIES. THESE ARE THE PLANETS OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. THESE ARE THE MISSIONS AND MISSION TEAMS THAT THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE OPENED THEM FROM WHAT CARL SAGAN CALLED POINTS OF LIGHT TO REAL PLANETS WHERE WE CAN WRITE THE TEXTBOOKS AND UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY ARE ABOUT, OUR LARGEST ENVIRONMENT BEYOND THE EARTH, OUR DOMESTIC SOLAR SYSTEM. NEW HORIZONS HAS FLEW SINCE 2006 AT RECORD SPEED THROUGH THE ORBIT OF MARS, JUPITER, SATURN, URANUS AND NEPTUNE, ESTABLISHING IN EACH CASE A RECORD IN THE ORBIT OF THAT PLANET ON A SHORT COURSE TO INTERCEPT PLUTO ON JULY 14, BASTILLE DAY 2015.

HERE YOU CAN SEE THE THIRD ZONE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM. THE KUIPER BELT IS THE LARGEST STRUCTURE AND WAS NOT EVEN DISCOVERED UNTIL THE 1990'S. NEW HORIZONS IS THE FIRST EXPLORATION OF THAT REGION. THE MAIN TARGET IS THE PLUTO SYSTEM. PLUTO IS THE LARGEST, BRIGHTEST, FIRST DISCOVERED AND MOST COMPLEX, TO OUR KNOWLEDGE, OF ANY OBJECT IN THE KUIPER BELT. IT HAS FIVE SATELLITES. IT HAS AN ATMOSPHERE. IT HAS A MOON THE SIZE OF TEXAS ORBITS SO CLOSELY THAT IT CONSTITUTES A BINARY. FOUR SMALLER MOONS AND MORE TO DISCOVER. AND MAYBE EVEN RINGS. IT IS MADE OF ROCK INSIDE, BUT IT HAS AN OUTER LAYER OF ICE, AND EXOTIC ICE, CARBON MONOXIDE.

IT HAS WINDS, SEASONS, PRECIPITATION IN THE FORM OF SNOW ON THE SURFACE. WE EVEN SEE THAT THIS ATMOSPHERE HAS DOUBLED IN PRESSURE SINCE WE ARE OBSERVING IT. WE SEE THAT THE SNOW HAS CHANGED THE APPEARANCE OF PLUTO'S SURFACE. WE KNOW IT IS A COMPLEX WORLD. BUT HE IS NOT ALONE. AND I'M GOING TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE KUIPER BELT IN A BIT. FIRST I WANT TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME OF THE FIRST THINGS NEW HORIZONS IS GOING TO DO. WE ARE THE FIRST MISSION TO THE KUIPER BELT, THE FIRST TO EXPLORE THE PLUTO SYSTEM. BUT AS YOU WILL SEE, WE ARE THE FIRST IN NASA'S NEW FRONTIER PLANETARY EXPLORATION PROGRAM.

THIS IS ACTUALLY THE FIRST MISSION TO AN OUTER PLANET LED BY AN INDIVIDUAL PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR AND A TEAM. AND THERE ARE MORE FIRSTERS THERE TOO. YOU CAN READ THEM. BUT I WANT TO TELL YOU ABOUT A MISTAKE THAT I AM VERY PROUD OF. IT'S THAT 245 WE ARE COMPLETING THE RECOGNITION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM. THEY ARE FLYING ANCHOR LEG IN A RELAY THAT STARTED IN THE 60S IN WHICH NASA HAS BEEN FIRST ON EACH PLANET AND OPENED OUR EYES TO THE TRUE DIVERSITY OF TYPES OF PLANETARIUMS, FROM THE MEDIUM TERRESTRIAL TO THE GARGANTUANS OF THE REGION THE GAS GIANTS, EVEN THE KUIPER BELTS.

IN FACT, SMALL PLANETS ARE REPRESENTED HERE. THESE ARE REAL WORLDS IN THE KUIPER BELT. THE LARGEST MEMBERS OF THE KUIPER BEST, PLUTO. YOU CAN SEE, THESE ARE PRESENTED AT THEIR SIZE RELATED TO THEIR SATELLITES WHEN THEY ARE KNOWN. ITS TRUE COLORS AND REFLECTIVITY. WHAT I WANT YOU TO KEEP IN MIND IS THE DIVERSITY OF THESE PLANETS IN THE KUIPER BELT. IT'S SOMETHING WE DON'T UNDERSTAND. WE DON'T KNOW WHY THERE MUST BE SUCH A GREAT VARIETY. YOU WOULD THINK ALL OF THEM WHEN TRAINED SO FAR AWAY WHEN IT WAS COLD THEY WOULD BE SIMILAR. IT'S A MYSTERY.

WITH NEW HORIZONS WE WILL BE ABLE TO EXPLORE THE FIRST IN DEPTH AND WE WILL DO IT IN LESS THAN SIX WEEKS. IF I CAN HAVE THE NEXT TIME STAMP. THIS IS THE SPACESHIP THAT WILL CARRY OUT THAT EXPLORATION. NEW HORIZONS IS ONLY THE SIZE OF A BABY GRAND PIANO. PLENTY OF LAUNCH WITH FULL FUEL SUPPLY, WEIGHED ABOUT 1,000 POUNDS. INSIDE THAT SPACESHIP, WHICH IS DRAWN ON THE LEFT AND SHOWN IN A PHOTO TAKEN AT THE CAPE BEFORE LAUNCH ON THE RIGHT, INSIDE THAT SPACESHIP ARE ALL THE SYSTEMS THAT ARE NEEDED FOR THE JOURNEY. PROPULSION, GUIDANCE, DATA AND COMMAND MANAGEMENT, COMMUNICATIONS.

ON THE OUTSIDE THERE ARE 9 SEVEN SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS, RADIO SCIENCE, CAMERAS, STUDENTS' DUST COUNTER THAT WILL BE USED TO EXPLORE THE SYSTEM. THE SEVEN INSTRUMENTS ON BOARD NEW HORIZONS ARE SOMETHING REALLY NOTABLE BECAUSE THEY WERE HIGHLY MINIATURIZED TO FIT ON A SMALL SPACECRAFT SO THAT WE COULD GET A QUICK LAUNCH. THE SEVEN OF THIS PAYLOAD ARE THE MOST SOPHISTICATED AND CAPABLE INSTRUMENT BATTERY SENT FOR FIRST RECONNAISSANCE AND YET THEY WEIGH LESS COMBINED THAN A SINGLE CAMERA IN THE ORBITER. AND ALL SEVEN COULD TURN THEM ON AT THE SAME TIME AND CONSUME 28 WATTS. THAT'S A NIGHT LIGHT. IT'S AMAZING.

THE POWER OF THESE INSTRUMENTS IS ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE BEYOND WHAT WAS AVAILABLE IN OUR TECHNOLOGY IN THE 70'S TO BUILD FOR VOYAGER. WE WILL HAVE DATA SETS THAT WILL BE JUST ATTRACTIVE. WE WILL HAVE SURFACE MAPS, COLOR MAPS, COMPOSITION MAPS. NOT ONLY FOR PLUTO BUT ALSO FOR SATELLITES. WE WILL LOOK FOR NEW SATELLITES AND RINGS, TEMPERATURE AND STRUCTURE OF THE ATMOSPHERE, WE WILL LOOK FOR THE IONOSPHERE. IF I CAN HAVE THE NEXT TIME STAMP. WE ALREADY KNOW A LITTLE ABOUT PLUTO FROM WHAT I HAVE TOLD YOU AND WHAT JIM HAD TO SAY. IT'S A BINARY. AND THIS IS OUR FIRST TRIP TO A BINARY PLANET.

WE ARE WAITING TO EXPLORE THAT. AS I SAID, PLUTO HAS AN ATMOSPHERE, COMPLEX SEASONS AND MANY ATTRIBUTES, ALL THE ATTRIBUTES OF THE NEAREST PLANETS. AND THE BIG MOON CHARON COULD BE QUALIFIED. IT IS MADE OF ROCK AND ICE. LET'S LOOK TO SEE IF IT HAS IT. OR IF IT ATTRACTS MATERIAL FROM PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERE TO ORBIT AROUND ITSELF. We think it's pretty good circumstantial evidence that Charon could be active, geologically active today, from some of the chemical clues that we've seen in the speck trade. WE WILL LOOK FOR MORE TALES IN TERMS OF THEIR CRATER RECORD, FOR EXAMPLE, THEIR GEOLOGY, TEXT NATURE, SLUDGE OR OTHER THINGS.

SOME GEOPHYSICAL MODELS PREDICT THAT CHARON MAY HAVE AN OCEAN INSIDE IT. HOW'S THAT FOR WILD? NEXT VIEW. THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE PHOTOS. IT IS THE BEST IMAGE OF PLUTO EVER MADE FROM EARTH. IT'S MADE WITH THE BIGGEST, BADEST WEAPON WE HAVE, THE HUBBELL TELESCOPE. 3,000 MILES AWAY IS NOT MUCH, BECAUSE PLUTO IS VERY FAR AWAY. LET ME CONFIRM THAT IF I CAN GET THE NEXT TIME I WILL STEP HERE. THIS IS THE NEXT IMAGES WE WILL HAVE OF PLUTO IN A FEW WEEKS. THESE ARE IMAGES OF THE EARTH WITH RESOLUTIONS COMPARABLE TO THOSE THAT WILL BE DELIVERED BY THE NEW HORIZONS ON PLUTO.

THE EARTH IS NOT PIXELATED. A BEAUTIFUL VIEW OF THE EARTH. THAT'S WHAT WE'LL HAVE ONE DAY BEFORE WE GET TO THE CLOSEST APPROACH. OUR IMAGES WILL BE AS GOOD AS THIS IMAGE OF NEW YORK CITY. I realize that on the TV camera you may not be able to see everything that we can see in the room. BUT THAT'S MANHATTAN ISLAND IN THE MIDDLE WITH THE HUDSON ON THE LEFT AND THE EAST RIVER ON THE RIGHT. YOU CAN SEE BY LOOKING AT OUR SCREEN, CENTRAL PARK. IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY YOU CAN SEE THE PONDS IN CENTRAL PARK.

THAT'S JUST WHAT WE'LL DO IN TERMS OF SIMPLE IMAGES. WHEN WE ADD THE THERMAL MASS, LETTING US RECONSTRUCT THE TOPOGRAPHY, ALL THE ATMOSPHERE STUDIES AND ALL THE OTHER THINGS WE'RE GOING TO DO, WE'LL WRITE THE TEXTBOOK OVERNIGHT AND TAKE YOU ON THE JOURNEY. NOT ONLY ON NASA TELEVISION BUT ON SOCIAL NETWORKS, WITH WEBSITES, WITH INSTANT IMAGE POSTS, NEXT DAY IMAGE POSTS. AND WE WILL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS ALONG THE WAY. WE'RE BASICALLY DOING ONE OF THE HISTORICAL MISSIONS OF THE 60'S OR 70'S WITH 2ND CENTURY MEDIA SENSITIVITIES. WE CAN'T WAIT TO BRING YOU TO IT. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

AND I WILL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS. EVERYTHING WELL. FOR THOSE STILL ONLINE FROM HOME, ASK NASA HASHTAG. JONATHAN ASKS, WHAT DOES THE MOON'S BEHAVIOR MEAN FOR POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS DEBRIS IN THE PATH OF NEW HORIZONS? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW, WE ARE BEING VERY CAREFUL. WE KNOW THAT PLUTO'S SMALLER SATELLITES HAVE SO LOW GRAVITY THAT WHEN THEY FAIL, THE MATERIAL THEY OUT ENTERS INTO ORBIT AROUND PLUTO. BECAUSE OUR SPACESHIP MOVES SO FAST. EVEN THE IMPACT OF A PEBBLE THE SIZE OF A RICE PELLET OR A PIECE OF RUBBLE FROM THOSE MOONS COULD CAUSE GREAT DAMAGE.

So we are conducting a hazard watch on the road. WE HAVE NOT FOUND ANYTHING WORRYING YET. THE BEST MODELS INDICATE THAT WE PROBABLY NEVER WILL. YOU ARE NOT TAKING ANY RISK. SO WE PREPARE BACKUP PLANS. AND I THINK WHAT THE QUESTIONER IS ASKING ABOUT THE NEW DISCOVERIES JUST ANNOUNCED FROM THE HUBBELL SPACE TELESCOPE, THAT THE MOONS ARE ORBITING CHAOTICLY. THIS IS A REALLY GOOD AND VERY TIMELY QUESTION. WONDERFUL. DO WE HAVE A QUESTION IN THE ROOM? ALRIGHT. WAIT FOR THE MICROPHONE. Hello. YEAH. I WAS WONDERING WHAT INSTRUMENTS DO YOU USE ON THE SPACECRAFT TO TEST THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION ON PLUTO AND HOW DO THEY WORK?

WE HAVE SPECTROMETERS. BREAK THE LIGHT IN THE ULTRA VIE LOT BAND SO THATWE CAN SEE ATOMS AND MOLECULES THAT SHINE DUE TO THEIR INTERACTION WITH SUNLIGHT. THAT ALLOWS US A PRINT OF THE COMPOSITION OF PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERE. IT WILL ALLOW US TO DETERMINE THE DENSITY OF THE ATMOSPHERE AS A FUNCTION OF ALTITUDE. WE ALSO HAVE INFRARED SPECTROMETER ON BOARD. IT DIVIDES LIGHT INTO ITS INDIVIDUAL WAVELENGTHS BUT IT IS USED TO STUDY THE SURFACES OF THE WORLD AND THEIR COMPETITION. ULTRA VIOLET IS CALLED ALICE. HER HONEYMOON IS RALPH. RALPH IS THE INFRARED SPECTROMETER. THANK YOU. WONDERFUL. OUR NEXT QUESTION WILL COME FROM LOWELL.

Hello. ENZO. THE DOCTOR INFORMED ME THAT THERE IS NO AGNTOMETER M. WILL THERE BE ENOUGH FOR A FOLLOW-UP MISSION? A LITTLE BACKGROUND FOR EVERYONE ELSE. THEY ARE THE TWO INSTRUMENTS THAT STUDY CHARGED PARTICLES, PLASMA. ACTUALLY THEY HAVE BEEN USED TO STUDY THE SAME THING THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE SOLAR SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE TRANSECTED TO THE KUIPER BELT. PEPSI AND SWAP ARE MAINLY THERE TO STUDY THE GASES LEAVING PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERE AND ESCAPE INTO THE ATMOSPHERE TO DETERMINE THEIR ESCAPE RATE. ALSO, SOME OF THE SIGNATURES THEY COULD DETECT COULD REVEAL WHETHER PLUTO HAS A STRONG MAGNETIC FIELD OR NOT.

ACCORDING TO STANDARD THEORY, SMALL WORLDS, SMALL PLANETS, AND ASTEROIDS DO NOT TYPICALLY HAVE STRONG MAGNETIC FIELDS. WE HAVE TO MAKE MANY DECISIONS TO OBTAIN A MISSION THAT PLUTO DOES NOT TAKE EVERYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF. MAGNOTOMETER, WE LEAVE IT OUT OF THE PAYMENT CHARGE. IF PLUTO HAS A STRONG MAGNETIC SIGNATURE, THAT WILL NOT ONLY SURPRISE GEOPHISCISTS, BUT IT WILL BE MADE KNOWN IN THE PEPSI AND SWAP DATA. OUR TEAM IS CALLED PLASMA PARTICLES, PART OF THE SCIENCE TEAM, THEY ARE VERY ANXIOUS TO SEE THE DATA FROM THE CLOSEST TO SEE IF THAT SURPRISES YOU. EVERYTHING WELL.

THE NEXT QUESTION COMES FROM HERE IN THE ROOM. Hello. THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING THESE QUESTIONS. SO TODAY WE LEARNED THAT DATA FROM EARTH TO NEW HORIZONS WILL TAKE ABOUT FOUR AND A HALF HOURS. AND THEN IT WILL BE ANOTHER FOUR AND A HALF HOURS BEFORE HE RETURNES. I WANT TO KNOW IF YOU HAD ANY PLAN FOR THAT NINE HOUR LENGTH? MAYBE A GOLF OR MAYBE A NICE SHOW OR A BOOK? IT'S GOING TO BE A WHILE. YES. LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THE CLOSER APPROACH. WE DESIGN NEW HORIZONS TO BE EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE WHEN YOU ARE THERE.

WE HAVE VERY FAST SPEEDS ON THE SPACESHIP. WE CAN TAKE DATA FROM UP TO FIVE INSTRUMENTS AT A TIME. WE HAVE SOLID STRAIGHT MEMORY BY SPACESHIP MEMORY. WE TAKE 100 TIMES MORE FENCE DATA THAN WE CAN SEND IN A SINGLE DAY. SO NEW HORIZONS WILL BE THE GIFT THAT KEEPS GIVING LONG AFTER WE PASS THE PLUTO SYSTEM, NO IMAGES WILL REACH EARTH FOR THE SCIENTIFIC TEAM AND FOR ALL OF YOU, FOR ALL OF YOU. NOW, AS WE MAKE OUR JOURNEY THROUGH THE CLOSER APPROACH, WE HAVE A CHOICE WE MADE A LONG TIME AGO, WHICH IS EITHER WE CAN TAKE AS MUCH DATA AS POSSIBLE OR WE CAN TALK TO THE EARTH.

WE SAID TAKE AS MUCH DATA AS POSSIBLE. ON THE DAY OF CLOSEST APPROACH, THE SPACECRAFT WON'T ACTUALLY COMMUNICATE WITH EARTH UNTIL LATE AFTERNOON. THE LAST IMAGE WILL BE DOWNLOADED LATE JULY 13TH. AND THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE DAY 14 THERE WILL BE NO IMAGES. THE BIG DOWNLOAD IS ON WEDNESDAY THE 15TH. THAT DATA TAKES FOUR AND A HALF HOURS FROM THE TOP OF THE SPACESHIP TO REACH THE EARTH. AFTER ONE IMAGE DOWNLOADS, THE NEXT, SPECTROSCOPY, PEPSI AND SWAP. WE WILL GIVE THE MISSIONS TEAM A DESERVED BREAK. THEN WE WILL PACK UP AND START A LINK DOWN OVER A YEAR TO LINK THE MEMORIES BACK TO EARTH AND FILL THE DATA BANKS HERE.

EVERYTHING WELL. MARVELOUS. OUR NEXT QUESTION COMES FROM LOWELL. Hello. THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE QUESTION. THIS IS MICHAEL KAISER FROM NASA SOCIAL IN LOWELL. MY QUESTION IS TO FOLLOW UP THE SPECTROMETER. CAN WE DETERMINE THE COMPLETE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND A PROPORTION OF THOSE MOLECULES? I'M JUST WONDERING ABOUT THE RESOLUTION OF THE SPECTROMETERS. THE RESOLUTION ACROSS THE ENTIRE BAND PASS FROM 1.25 TO 2.5 MICRONS IS APPROXIMATELY 250. WE HAVE A HIGH RESOLUTION SEGMENT WITH APPROXIMATELY DOUBLE THAT RESOLUTION. SPECTRUM RESOLUTION OF APPROXIMATELY 500. INCLUDES THE DENSITY OF EACH SPECIES WE CAN DETECT. THERE IS A VERY WIDE RANGE OF HYDROCARBONS AND NITROGENS THAT WE CAN DETECT.

WE WILL BE ATTENTION TO THAT. WE CAN DETECT INDIVIDUAL ATOMIC SPECIES HIGH IN THE ATMOSPHERE, SUCH AS HYDROGEN, WHICH WE THINK IS PREVALENT IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE OF PLUTO AND MISTS AND CLOUDS, IN BOTH CAMERAS AND SPECTROMETERS. IT IS A FAIRLY COMPLETE INVESTIGATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE. AGAIN, WE ARE TAKING QUESTIONS ONLINE #ASKNASA. THIS IS PROFESSOR ABLE MÉNDEZ QUESTION, WHAT IS THE ESTIMATE OF THE TOTAL ATMOSPHERE ON PLUTO? IT IS DETERMINED FROM TERRESTRIAL STUDIES WHICH OBSERVE THE VERY OCCASIONAL DISAPPEARANCE OF THE STAR BEHIND PLUTO AND ITS REAPPEARANCE. BY GRAPHING THE SPEED WITH WHICH IT DECREASES DUE TO ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION, WE CAN DETERMINE THE HEIGHT OF THE SCALE AND THE PRESSURE IN THE ATMOSPHERE.

WHAT WE DON'T KNOW IS WHETHER WE ARE SINKING TO THE BOTTOM OF THE ATMOSPHERE. SO WE HAVE A LOWER LIMIT OF APPROXIMATELY 10 MICROPARSE. BUT AT MOOSE SEVERE MAY BE DEEPER THAN WE CAN PROBE FROM THE EARTH. THE NEW HORIZONS WILL DETERMINE IT. THE PRESSURE COULD BE UP TO 5 OR 10 TIMES GREATER, 50 OR 100 MICROBARS. THAT IS THE RANGE OF OUR UNCERTAINTY. AFTER JULY THERE WILL BE NO UNCERTAINTY. WE WILL TELL YOU THE ANSWER. EVERYTHING WELL. ANOTHER QUESTION IN THE ROOM. HELLO DOCTOR. EMILY, HISTORY TEACHER AT MORRIS TECH IN NEW JERSEY. FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO SAY I APPRECIATE BASTILLE DAY.

IN CERTAIN THIS IS REVOLUTIONARY. THE DIRECTOR SAID OUTER SPACE MISSIONS HELP US LEARN MORE ABOUT EARTH. SO THIS IS MORE OF WHAT WE LEARN ABOUT WHAT HUMAN PROGRESS AND POTENTIAL CAN DO, OR WE CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT THE EARTH OR THEY ARE THE LAST MISSIONS WE WILL HAVE AFTER THE FIRST ONE HAPPENS, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. I'M VERY GLAD YOU ASKED THAT QUESTION. THIS IS AN EXCELLENT QUESTION. WE CAN KNOW THE ORIGIN OF THE EARTH IN THREE DIFFERENT WAYS. THE FIRST IS TO STUDY THE PLUTO SYSTEM ITSELF BY STUDYING THE SMALL PLANETS. WE CAN LEARN HOW THE BUILDING BLOCKS WHICH WERE THE LUMBY POTATOES AND THE PLANETECIMALS BUILT SMALL PLANETS FROM WHICH LARGER PLANETS CAME TO EXIST.

AND HE NEVER STUDY ANY PLANET LIKE PLUTO BEFORE. THAT'S THE FIRST WAY. THE SECOND IS THAT IT IS STRONGLY BELIEVED THAT THE ORIGIN OF THE PLUTO SATELLITE SYSTEM IS THE SAME ORIGIN MECHANISM, A GIANT COLLISION THAT GENERATED PLUTO MATERIAL WHERE THE EARTH-MOON SYSTEM WAS FORMED. IT IS THE ONLY KNOWN EXAMPLE IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM OF A FORMATION MECHANISM FOR ITS SATELLITE LIKE EARTH-MOON. SO IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR PLANETARY SCIENCES TO HAVE THAT SECOND EXAMPLE. AND WE HAVE KNOWN THAT PART OF THE MOTIVATION FOR GOING TO THE PLUTO SYSTEM WAS TO STUDY THE ORIGIN OF ITS GREAT MOON CHARON.

THERE IS ALSO A THIRD WAY. THE ATMOSPHERE IS ESCAPE RAPIDLY. PARTLY BECAUSE PLUTO IS A SMALL PLANET. AND PARTLY BECAUSE THERE IS A HEATING MECHANISM THAT ADDES ENERGY TO THE MOLECULES. AND THE ESCAPE RATE FROM PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERE, ESCAPE MECHANISM, IS HYDRODYNAMIC ESCAPE, WHICH IS A Fancy TERM. BUT ALL IT REALLY MEANS IS THAT THE LEAK RATE IS MUCH HIGHER THAN NORMAL. IT IS DUE TO THAT HIGH TEMPERATURE. AND THE SAME HAPPENED ON THE EARTH JUST AFTER THE EARTH WAS FORMED, WHICH WAS STILL MOLTEN. IT WAS LEAKING HYDRODYNAMICLY. ORIGINALLY, THE EARTH WAS MADE OF HYDROGEN AND HELium.

ALL OF THAT IS GONE NOW. THAT'S THE PROCESS IT WAS LEFT BY, HYDRODYNAMIC EXHAUST. IT HAS BEEN DISCOVERED BY THEORISTS ON BOARDS AND MODELED ON COMPUTER, BUT IT HAS NEVER BEEN OBSERVED ON A PLANETARY SCALE. PLUTO IS THE FIRST PLACE WE CAN GO TO STUDY A PROCESS TO REFORM THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE FROM A POISONOUS ENCLOSURE TO THE ATMOSPHERE WE ENJOY TODAY. SO THAT'S ANOTHER CONNECTION. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT QUESTION FROM THE LOWELL OBSERVATORY. Hello. HELLO MY NAME IS CASEY. WHEN COULD WE SEE AN ORBITAL MISSION OR A ROVER MISSION OR SOME TYPE OF LANDING AND WHAT COULD WE LEARN MORE FROM THAT AS OPPOSED TO JUST A FLIGHT MISSION?

IT'S HARD TO PREDICT SOMETHING LIKE THIS. PLUTO, IF IT'S AS INTERESTING AS WE HOPE IT TO BE, I THINK THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY WILL WANT TO COME BACK AND DO MORE STUDIES. ORBITER OR LANDER IS A BEAUTIFUL MISSION TO FLY NEXT. OF COURSE, TO DEFEND THAT AND BUILD THE MISSION AND FLY IT IS PROBABLY A COUPLE OF DECKS 80. MAYBE IT WILL BE BY 2030 AFTER WE FLY TO EUROPE AND LEARN ABOUT THAT AND THE UPCOMING MARS ROVERS. IT DEPENDS ON THE RESULTS AND HOW EXCITING THEY ARE FROM NEW HORIZONS. THAT'S THE KIND OF THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO TALK ABOUT A LITTLE LATER.

BECAUSE WE ARE FOCUSED ON THE FIRST RECOGNITION FOR NOW. THE QUESTION ARISED HERE TO NASA ASKING TWITTER USERS WHO ASKED WHAT WILL BE THE NEXT OBJECT THAT WILL VISIT NEW HORIZONS AFTER PLUTO? WELL, AFTER PLUTO, AS REQUESTED BY THE DECAYEDAL STUDY, WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO FURTHER AND STUDY THE BUILDING BLOCKS THAT LIKE THE SECOND DWARF PLANETS THAT, MACKEY, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED TWO POTENTIAL TARGETS WITHIN OUR FUEL SUPPLY TO OUR SCOPE . BOTH FLIGHTS WOULD OCCUR IN 2019. WE CAN GO TO ONE OR THE OTHER BUT THEY ARE IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. SO WE HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN THEM.

AND WE WILL DO IT IN AUGUST. FOR THAT MISSION TO COMPLETE, FOR IT TO REALLY BE CARRIED OUT, WE HAVE TO WRITE A PROPOSAL, LIKE ALL MISSIONS EXTENDED TO NASA. THAT WILL BE PEER REVIEWED. IF IT'S WELL REVIEWED, NASA HEADQUARTERS WILL FUND THAT MISSION UNTIL 2019 OR 2020 TO CAPTURE THE DATA AND BRING IT ALL TO EARTH. WE ARE VERY LIKE TO WRITE THAT PROPOSAL. WE THINK IT'S EXCITING. GOING ANOTHER BILLION MILES AND EXPLORING THE PRISTINE OBJECTS FROM WHICH SMALL PLANETS WERE FORMED IS AN UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITY THAT NO OTHER MISSION ON THE DRAWING BOARDS OR IN FLIGHT CAN ACHIEVE.

THAT IS SOMETHING THAT NEW HORIZONS CAN CONTRIBUTE IN A UNIQUE WAY. AND THAT'S WHY, WE ARE VERY WAITING FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROPOSE IT. EVERYTHING WELL. ANOTHER QUESTION HERE IN THE ROOM. HELLO DOCTOR. So those two objects, what will be your criteria for which one to choose to target? ANOTHER GOOD QUESTION. THERE ARE ALL CRITERIA THAT WE ARE OBSERVING. THEY HAVE TO DO WITH HOW MUCH FUEL WE HAVE AND HOW EXCITING SCIENCE IS. MORE FUEL IS NEEDED TO REACH. IT TAKES ALMOST ALL OF OUR FUEL SUPPLY JUST TO POINT IT IN ITS DIRECTION TO INTERCEPT IT.

THE OTHER TAKES ABOUT HALF OF OUR FUEL SUPPLY, LEAVING A LOT MORE FOR ACTUAL SCIENTIFIC OBSERVATIONS WHEN WE ARE THERE. WE ARE LOOKING AT OUR ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE, HOW MUCH POWER WE WILL HAVE YEARS LATER. HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THE RADIOACTIVE HALF-LIFE DIFFERENCE THAT FALLS EVERY YEAR, THE LEVELS OF ILLUMINATION, THE ESTIMATED SIZES OF OBJECTS. AND ALSO ITS PROMINENCE OR ITS ORIGIN. IT TURNS OUT THAT BOTH OBJECTS CAME FROM AN ANCIENT COLD CLASSICAL KUIPER BELT OBJECT THAT ACTUALLY FORMED IN THE SAME REGION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM. NOT TRANSPORTED TO THE KUIPER BELT BUT FORMED THERE. SO THEY REALLY INFORMED US ABOUT THE CONDITIONS THERE AT THE BEGINNING.

SO ALL THOSE FACTORS COME INTO THE MIX. AND THE TEAM WILL MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO NASA LATER THIS SUMMER. AND THEN, IN THE FALL, WE NEED TO START THE ENGINES. BECAUSE THE LONGER WE WAIT, THE MORE AND MORE FUEL IS NEEDED. EVEN IF YOU WAIT UNTIL THE END OF 2016, JUST ONE YEAR LATER, BOTH MISSIONS WOULD CONSUME MORE FUEL THAN WE HAVE ON BOARD. THANK YOU. DR. QUESTION FROM DR. POPA COMES FROM LOWELL OBSERVATORY. LOWELL HAS NO MORE QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY AND ANSWERING QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. DEFINITELY. . SO YOU HEAR A LITTLE ABOUT THE SCIENCE OF WHAT NEW HORIZONS IS GOING TO ACHIEVE.

BUT THAT WOULD NOT HAPPEN WITHOUT THE HARDWARE. WE TALKED ABOUT THE ACTUAL SPACESHIP AND WHAT'S ON BOARD AND EVERYTHING. NEXT TO JOIN US IS CHRIS HERSMAN, MISSION SYSTEMS ENGINEER HERE AT THE OBSERVATORY. THANK YOU, JASON. DEFINITELY. THIS IS MY FAVORITE PART OF THE MISSION. UNFORTUNATELY, OUR JOB IS TO TAKE THOSE INSTRUMENTS TO PLUTO AND BRING ALL THOSE OBSERVATIONS. SO I WAS INVOLVED IN THE DEVELOPMENT. I WAS A SPACECRAFT SYSTEMS ENGINEER WHEN WE WERE BUILDING IT AND PROMOTED TO MISSION SYSTEMS ENGINEER AFTER LAUNCH. AND I'M GOING TO GO GIVE YOU A LITTLE TOUR OF THE SPACESHIP. YOU HAVE ALREADY HEARD A LOT ABOUT INSTRUMENTS.

JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE ON THE SIZE. I ALWAYS USE MY ARMS. I stretch out my arms and say that the antenna is a little longer than you can reach. MEASURES APPROXIMATELY 80 INCHES. AND THE WHOLE SPACESHIP IS LIKE A GRAND PIANO. AT THIS END OF THE SPACESHIP, ALL OF THIS IS JUST HERE. YOU MIGHT SAY, WELL, WHY IS THAT? THERE ARE A COUPLE OF REASONS FOR THAT. PROVIDES BALANCE FOR SWING MODE. I HAVE BROUGHT A LITTLE ACCESSORY HERE TO DESCRIBE THAT. IT WAS VERY EXPENSIVE TO MAKE. SO THEY DIDN'T LET ME THROW THE MODELS AWAY.

BUT BY BALANCING THE RTG, THE POWER SOURCE, ON THE END AND ALL THE INSTRUMENTS ON THE OTHER SIDE, YOU WILL GET SOMETHING THAT SPINS. AND THEN YOU WON'T HAVE TO USE PROPELLERS TO KEEP THE SHIP POILED AT THE EARTH. So if you were all the Earth and it was spinning this way, you would keep the high gain antenna pointed at the Earth without burning any fuel. THIS IS HOW WE GET TO PLUTO WITHOUT HAVING A LOT OF EXTRA FUEL ON BOARD TO KEEP THE SHIP ON POINT. WHEN WE ARE IN THREE AXIS MODE, WHICH IS WHATWE ARE DOING ON PLUTO, THE PROPELLERS SCATTERED AROUND THE SPACECRAFT AND PLACED PRECISELY SO IT CAN MANEUVER IN ANY WAY.

TO AIM AT THE EARTH IN OUR THREE-AXIS MODE, YOU MUST PUSH FORWARD AND BACKWARD TO KEEP THE HIGH GAIN ANTENNA FOCUSED ON THE EARTH. USES FUEL, PROPELLENT CYCLES. THOSE ARE CONSUMABLES ON THE SPACESHIP. So I'm going to move on to the first instrument we'll talk about, which is Alice. THIS IS THE ULTRA VIOLET. I WANT TO TALK ABOUT HOW IT IS PRESENTED. THERE IS AN OPENING POINTING IN THIS DIRECTION, WHICH GIVES THE OCCULT MEASUREMENT, SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH THE RADIOCIENCE EXPERIMENT. SO IT'S TURNING TOWARDS THE EARTH AT THE SAME TIME ALICE IS POINTING AT THE SUN. BOTH MEASURE AS THEY TRAVEL INTO THE ATMOSPHERE AND MAKE MEASUREMENTS ALONG THE PATH.

AS YOU HEARD ABOUT THE AIR GLOW, THIS IS WHERE THE MEASUREMENTS ARE TAKEN WHEN YOU LOOK AT PLUTO. AND IT IS MUCH MORE SENSITIVE. SOLAR OCCULTING LOOK AT THE SUN. THE OPENING OF THE AIR FLOW LOOKS AT PLUTO. AND THE RALPH INSTRUMENT, WHICH IS THE INVISIBLE INFRARED CAMERA OF THE SPACECRAFT. YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THE LARGE WHITE AREA IS THE RADIATOR. THAT IS TO KEEP THE INFRARED PART OF THE INSTRUMENT VERY COOL. IT IS DOUBLE RADIATOR. THE SPACESHIP IS VERY HOT INSIDE. WELL, IT IS THE AMBIENT TEMPERATURE, WHICH IS VERY HOT IN SPACE. AND THIS INSTRUMENT IS VERY COLD.

AND WHAT THEY DO IS THEY HAVE TWO RADIATORS TO KEEP THIS VERY COLD AND THIS KEEPS THE INSULATION EVEN MORE FAR. AND THEN THERE'S A POWER SUPPLY THAT GOES IN THERE AND CONNECTS TO THE ELECTRONICS WHICH IS THE DETECTOR OF THE INSTRUMENT. SO WHEN YOU TAKE INFRARED IMAGES YOU CAN GET LESS NOISE IN THE INSTRUMENT. NOW WE WILL GO TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SHIP AND YOU WILL SEE THE ELECTRIC THERMAL GENERATOR. IT IS BLACK. IT'S ALSO VERY HOT INSIDE. AND THE HEAT FROM INSIDE AND THE COLD FROM OUTSIDE IN SPACE ALLOWS US TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY FROM THAT TEMPERATURE DIFFERENTIAL.

AND IT ONLY GENERATES 200 WATTS WHEN WE ARE ON PLUTO. IT GENERATES A LOT MORE HEAT. So we actually saved some of the electrical energy by making a little hole at the end here inside the spaceship. AND WE RECOVER PART OF THAT HEAT AND RETURN IT TO THE SPACESHIP TO KEEP IT WARM. AND THERE WERE A LOT OF CALCULATIONS TO THE DESIGN OF HOW BIG THAT HOLE SHOULD BE. AND WE ACTUALLY TESTED IT HERE ON EARTH WHEN WE LAUNCHED IT. ONCE WE GET THE HEAT THAT WE ACTUALLY WANT TO KEEP IN THE SPACECRAFT, WE WANT TO REJECT ALL THE OTHER HEAT, SO THAT'S THIS LITTLE SHIELD.

IT KEEPS ALL THE HEAT AWAY FROM THE OTHER INSTRUMENTS BECAUSE THEY WANT†... THEY DON'T WANT TO BE ALTERED BY THAT HEAT. AND THEN YOU'LL NOTICE A PYRAMID SHAPE HERE, WHICH WE CAN ADJUST THE DESIGN TO HELP BALANCE THE SPACESHIP. AND IN DEVELOPMENT WE REALLY CHANGED THAT A LITTLE BIT. NOT PHYSICALLY, BUT IN THE DESIGN PHASE, TO HELP BALANCE ONCE WE FIND OUT WHERE ALL OF THESE THINGS WOULD BE ON THE SPACECRAFT. SO NOW WE'LL GO UP TO THE HIGH GAIN ANTENNA. WE WILL SEE THAT THERE WERE MANY†-- THIS IS THE HIGH GAIN ANTENNA ASSEMBLY. THERE WERE MANY ANTENNAS HERE.

THE LOW GAIN ANTENNA WAS USED AT LAUNCH BECAUSE IT CAN SEE A HEMISPHERE OF THE EARTH OR WHEREEVER IT IS POINTED. AND THEN THERE'S ANOTHER EQUAL ON THE BOTTOM SIDE. IF THE SPACESHIP GOES OFF AND IT IS REALLY A STRANGE DIRECTION, WE CAN TALK TO THE SPACESHIP. NOW THEY ARE SO FAR AWAY THAT THEY ARE USELESS. WE NO LONGER USE THEM. WE HAVE ONE FOR OUR BEACON MODE. WHEN WE ARE IN SPIN MODE AND NOT POINTING DIRECTLY AT THE EARTH, WE CAN USE THIS TO TELL US THAT THE SPACECRAFT IS OKAY. WE WILL POINT IT IN A SPECIFIC DIRECTION WHERE IN THE FUTURE THE EARTH WILL BE AT THE CENTER OF THE ANTENNA.

WE CAN TALK TO HIM ONCE A WEEK†. ACTUALLY, WE CAN LISTEN TO IT ONCE A WEEK AND THE SPACESHIP WILL SAY EVERYTHING IS WELL AND I'M DOING WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO DO. AND THEN THE HIGH GAIN TEN WHICH IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR RADIO SCIENCE. THEY BOUNCE OFF THIS BIG DISH AND REFLECT OFF THE BACK OF THIS ANTENNA AND INTO THE ANTENNA FEED. AND THAT ALLOWED US THE COMBINATION OF THIS AND THAT ALLOWED US TO TRAIN THE PEOPLE. SO IT'S NOT JUST A ROUND BEAM. IT ACTUALLY HAS A SHAPE THAT GIVES YOU A FLAT KIND OF ANTENNA GAIN.

IT GIVES US OUR HIGH GAIN WIDTH. HELPS SAVE ON THE USE OF THE PROPELLER. NOW THE NEXT SET OF INSTRUMENTS FROM THE OTHER SIDE. THIS IS THE PLUTO SOLAR WIND EXCHANGE EXPERIMENT. YOU CAN SEE THE LAUNCH DOORS ARE DEPLOYED. IT HAS A LARGE FIELD OF VISION IN THE SHAPE OF A FAN. ALL THE ROAD CAN RECEIVE SIGNALS. AND THE ADVANTAGE OF THAT IS THAT WHILE ALL THE CAMERAS ARE POINTING AROUND AND LOOKING, THIS CAN STILL MAKE ITS MEASUREMENTS BECAUSE IT HAS SUCH A WILD FIELD OF VIEW IN THIS PLANE. ALSO IF WE GO UP TO THE PEPSI INSTRUMENTS HAS A FAN BEAM ANTENNA, WHICH YOU CAN SEE HERE.

AND I THINK IT WILL HAPPEN SOON. YOU CAN SEE THE FAN BEAM OF THE ENERGY PARTICLE INSTRUMENT, PEPSI. AND THEN IT'S ALSO HERE TO PROTECT THE SOLAR INFLUENCE. IN ACTUALLY, IT WAS THE SHIELD THAT INTERACTS WITH THE HIGH GAIN ANTENNA WHERE IT IS PLACED. AND NOW THE LONG RANGE IMAGE IS THE BIGGEST OPENING. THIS IS about a meter wide or about a yard. THAT'S WHAT WE TAKE APPROACH IMAGES WITH AND FOR NAVIGATION. WE WILL TAKE PHOTOS OF PLUTO AND THE BACKGROUND STARS AND DISCOVER BETTER THAN WE CAN ON EARTH. THEN WE ADJUST THE TIME OF THE COMMANDS THAT WILL TAKE ALL THE OBSERVATIONS SO THAT THEY ARE SYNCHRONIZED WITH WHERE THE SPACECRAFT IS.

WE WILL ALSO SEND A TIMELINE SO THAT EVERYTHING IS IN LINE WITH THE WAY WE PLANNED IT. YOU CAN ALSO SEE THE STAR TRACKERS. THESE ARE USED FOR THE ATTITUDE TO DETERMINE WHERE THE ATTITUDE IS. AND THERE ARE TWO FOR REDUNDANCY. WE ONLY NEED ONE, BUT WE'LL PUT TWO ON BOARD. WE HAVE OUR AUTONOMY SYSTEM, WHICH WILL PASS FROM ONE TO ANOTHER IF ONE DOES NOT WORK. THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PART OF A SPACESHIP THAT WILL BE NINE HOURS AWAY. IF WE WANTED TO TELL HIM TO DO SOMETHING, WE WOULD NOT KNOW IF HE DID IT UNTIL NINE HOURS WHEN WE RECEIVED THE MESSAGE.

SO YOU HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND WHAT YOU'RE DOING. CHECK THE TELEMETRY AND BE INFORMED. NEXT WE WILL GO UP TO THE SOLAR SENSOR. WE HAVE A SPACESHIP MODE THAT SAYS I AM... I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING. I AM LOST IN SPACE. I'M GOING TO POINT TO THE SUN BECAUSE THE SUN, WHICH IS SO FAR AWAY ON PLUTO, IS VERY CLOSE TO THE EARTH. IF WE AIM AT THE SUN, THE EARTH WILL BE ABLE TO TALK TO THE SPACESHIP. IN REALITY IT IS NOT BECAUSE WE NEED ENERGY FROM THE SUN, BUT BECAUSE WE WANT TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE EARTH.

SO THAT'S PRETTY THE TOUR. AND I THINK†-- YES. THAT'S ALL. SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SPACESHIP? THE FIRST QUESTION IN THE ROOM. GO UP HERE. COULD YOU TALK A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE PROPELLERS AND ABOUT THE CHANGE OF TURN MODES TO THREE AXIS AND SO ON? SURE. I COULD USE THE MODELS, I SUPPOSE. LET ME DO THIS. BECAUSE I ALWAYS LIKE IT†-- I THINK THIS WILL COME FROM HERE. ACTUALLY WE CAN ALSO SEE THE BACKGROUND. BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE PROPELLER TANK IS. THERE ARE SOME HERE AT THE BOTTOM AND SOME ON THE SIDE.

WHAT THEY DO IS SHOOT IN PAIRS. IF WE WANTED TO SPIN THIS WAY, WE WOULD SHOOT ONE HERE AND THEN ANOTHER HERE. AND THEN†-- IT IS NOTED IN GENERAL†-- LET'S SEE. FROM HERE AND FROM HERE, UP AND BELOW. AND THEN FROM HERE AND FROM HERE ON THE SIDES. SO THOSE WHO ARE ON THE SIDES, TILT THEM TOWARDS HERE. AND THOSE WHO ARE ABOVE AND BELOW GO HERE AND HERE. THIS WAY YOU WILL GET THREE AXIS CONTROL. So when we want to spin, we fire the thrusters and spin at 5 RPM. BECAUSE IT'S PRETTY STABLE†-- IT'S A TRADE-OFF BETWEEN†-- THERE ARE ALWAYS TRADE-OFFS.

COMPLETE IS NEEDED TO GIAR. THE MORE FAVORITE YOU TURN, THE MORE STABLE YOU ARE. WE PROBABLY COULD HAVE GOED SLOWER BUT WE BUDGETED FOR 5 RPM. ONCE YOU BUDGET EVERYTHING, YOU DON'T WANT TO CHANGE ANYTHING. THERE ARE TWO PROPELLERS POINTING STRAIGHT DOWN. THOSE ARE THE ONE WE DO TO USE THE MANEUVER AFTER PLUTO WHEN WE GO TO THE KUIPER BELT. THEY ARE LIKE FIVE TIMES BIG. AND THEN WHEN WE DO THAT, WE ALSO USE THE OTHER PROPELLERS TO CONTROL THE AIM WHILE WE'RE PUSHING. ANOTHER INTERESTING THING: WE ONLY USE TWO PROPELLERS AT A TIME. THE PROPELLERS TAKE A LOT OF ENERGY.

WE WANT TO STAY BELOW THOSE 200 WATTS OF POWER. SO WE ONLY OPERATE TWO PROPELLERS AT A TIME EXCEPT WHEN WE DO A DELTA V, AND THEN WE CAN DO 4. HYDROZINE. THE NEXT QUESTION COMES FROM LOWELL OBSERVATORY. LOWELL? HOW DOES THE USE OF RTG ON NEW HORIZONS CHANGE THE ATTITUDE, POLITICAL OR OTHERWISE, TO USING RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL FOR POWER SYSTEMS, FOR DEEP SPACE MISSIONS? THAT WOULD BE A MORE ATTIC PROGRAM QUESTION. THERE WAS NOT MUCH RESISTANCE TO NEW HORIZONS BECAUSE IT WAS A DIRECT LAUNCH INTO SPACE. SO THERE WAS NO OVERFLIGHT. IT HAD NO OTHER RADIOISOTOPE HEATER UNITS.

SO THE SECURITY ANALYSIS WAS VERY DIRECT AND SIMPLE. AND WE MADE A CONSCIOUS DECISION TO DO THAT BECAUSE WE HAD A SHORT SCHEDULE. SO WE WERE LAUNCHING A POWER SOURCE THAT HAD ALREADY BLOWN UP, ALREADY IN THIS ULYSSES-LIKE CONFIGURATION. I THINK WE WOULD HAVE TO SURVEY THE AUDIENCE OR THE PUBLIC TO SEE HOW THEIR PERCEPTION HAS CHANGED. BUT I NEVER HAD ANY CONCERNS ABOUT THE LAUNCH OF THE POWER SOURCE. WONDERFUL. JUST A REMINDER THAT WE ARE TAKING QUESTIONS USING #ASKNASA. HOW LONG WOULD THE NEW HORIZONS IN SPACE LAST? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. AND IT DEPENDS ON WHAT COULD GO WRONG FIRST.

OR IF THINGS ARE GOING WELL. THERE ARE THINGS YOU CAN DO THAT ASSUME MORE RISK. AS YOU MENTIONED ABOUT THE PROPULSION SYSTEM AND THE PROPELLERS, AS WE START TO LOSE POWER FROM THE RTG, IT STARTS TO DECLINE AND DOWN. YOU THINK ABOUT†--WHAT CAN WE SWITCH OFF? WHAT DO WE NOT NEED? THERE ARE WAYS TO OPERATE SPACECRAFT WITH FEWER PROPELLERS. AND YOU COULD ALLOW THEM TO COOL. AND THE TEMPERATURE YOU COULD ALLOW TO BE COOLER. BY DOING SO, YOU ASSUME MORE RISKS. WE HAVE CALCULATED THAT IF EVERYTHING GOES WELL WE CAN CONFIDENTLY MAINTAIN UNTIL THE MID 30'S. 2030'S.

BUT IF YOU ASK ME AND SAY I WAS GAMBLING, I THINK WE COULD GO LONGER. WE HAD TO ESTIMATE WHAT A RELIABLE MISSION LIFE IS AND CALCULATE THE DECAY AND RTG. AND WE ARRIVED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 2030S. EVERYTHING WELL. NEXT QUESTION FROM THE ROOM. TO CONTINUE WHAT YOU JUST SAID ABOUT THE 2030s, AND THEN EARLIER ALAN TALKED ABOUT THE DECISION ABOUT GOING IN WHAT DIRECTION, LET'S SAY IT LASTS BEYOND 2030. ARE THERE ANY FUTURE PLANS BEYOND THE NEXT COMPANY FOR NEW HORIZONS? YES, THERE REALLY IS. SOME FUTURE PLANS. BUT OF COURSE YOU CAN'T DECIDE UNTIL THERE IS FINANCING AND ALL THAT.

SO FROM A SCIENTIFIC ENGINEERING, THE ADVANTAGE OF GOING LONGER IS THAT YOU CAN TAKE MEASUREMENTS OF THE PARTICLES AND INSTRUMENTS AND MEASURE THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE HELIOSPHERE AND THE GALACTIC ENVIRONMENT. RIGHT NOW VOYAGER HAS TRANSFERRED BEYOND THE HELIOSPHERE. AND THE INTERACTIONS THEY DISCOVERED AT THAT LIMIT WAS VERY SURPRISING. SO WE COULD ACTUALLY MAKE ANOTHER MEASUREMENT IN ANOTHER PART OF THE LIOSPHERE H HE AND SEE THAT TRANSITION INTO OUTER SPACE WHAT YOU WOULD CALL. IT IS BEYOND THE SOLAR INFLUENCE. THE NEXT QUESTION COMES FROM THE LOBE OBSERVATORY. Hello. MY NAME IS NATALIE FELDER. MY QUESTION IS, WHAT IS THE OUTER BODY BUILT OF TO WITHSTAND THE PRESSURE AND VACUUM OF DEEP SCIENCE AND HOW VULNERABLE IS IT TO THE ELEMENTS OF THE UNKNOWN, SAY?

THE VACUUM CLEANER IS NOT A PROBLEM BECAUSE THERE ARE VENTS THAT LET THE AIR OUT. SO THAT'S NOT A PROBLEM. BUT TO PROTECT AGAINST MICRO METEOROIDS, WE REMOVED THE THERMAL BLANKETS AND PUT SEPARATORS ON ALL SIDES, LIKE CHOPSTICKS TO LIFT THE BLANKETS A LITTLE BIGGER. So when you saw the spaceship with the blankets, they weren't pressed directly against the spaceship. THEY STOP LIKE A BUMPER FOR VERY SMALL PARTICLES THAT MAY BE IN SPACE TO ALLOW THEM TO HIT SOMETHING AND BLOW UP SO NOT TO PENETRATE THE SURFACE OF THE SPACECRAFT. AND THEN WE ALSO PUT A VERY DENSE LAYER OF KEVLAR ON THE BLANKET.

WE HAVE THERMAL BLANKETS, BUT WE ALSO HAVE A LAYER INSIDE THAT IS REALLY STRONG. IT WILL NOT PREVENT THE PARTICLE FROM THROUGH THAT BLANKET. BUT WHAT IT WILL DO IS BREAK IT SO THAT WHEN IT HITS THE DECK OF THE SPACESHIP IT WON'T PENETRATE. IT WILL ONLY MAKE ONE BLOOD. THIS IS HOW WE DESIGNED THE SPACESHIP FOR THAT. EVERYTHING WELL. NEXT QUESTION IN THE ROOM HERE. THANK YOU, LOWELL FOR THAT LAST QUESTION. PERFECT TRACKING. HOW IS THAT PROOF? DOES HE LOOK SO THIN? LIKE TAPE. THEY HAD I THINK IT'S VELCROED. ONE THING WE DID IN OUR TESTING IS THAT WE HAD TO BE VERY ACCURATE ABOUT HOW MUCH HEAT LEAKS OUT OF THE SPACECRAFT.

So to prove that we could do that, we had to put the blankets on, test them in a heated vacuum, take them off, and then put them back on and make sure it was the same. SO WHEN WE PLAYED IT AGAIN THE LAST TIME WE COULD BE CONFIDENT THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE THE SAME THING. I THINK IT'S VELCRO AND TAPE. AND THEN THE SEPARATORS HAVE LIKE A WASHER OR SOMETHING THAT HOLDS THEM AND THEN THEY ARE ESPECIALLY FASTENED ON THE TOP. BUT WE HAVE AMAZING THERMAL ENGINEERS WHO WILL SEW THESE BLANKETS. IT IS REALLY A GREAT OPERATION.

THEY HAVE A COMPLETE MODEL ON THE SPACESHIP. THEY BUILD IT ON THE MODEL AND THEN THEY HAVE TO DISASSEMBLE IT LIKE A DRESS. THE LAST QUESTION COMES FROM LOWELL. ALY McGRAW HERE. SPACESHIP NERVOUSNESS. DO YOU EXPECT TO SEE ANY NERVES OR ARE THEY DESIGNED TO BE ON THE SPACESHIP? WE TRY TO AVOID MOVING PARTS AS POSSIBLE TO INCREASE THE RELIABILITY OF THE SPACECRAFT. SO THERE'S REALLY NOTHINGON BOARD THAT HAS MOVED. THE STUDENT'S DESK IS ONE THAT CAN MEASURE VERY FINE DISTURBATIONS. BECAUSE IT IS INTENDED TO MEASURE WITH A VERY SMALL IMPACT ON A DETECTOR. BUT IT HAS THE CAPACITY TO SET ITS THRESHOLDS.

AND THE ONLY THING I WAS GOING TO SAY THAT IT HAS MOVING PARTS, THERE IS A VALVE INSIDE THE PROPELLERS. SO THE STUDENT'S DESK COUNTER CAN DETECT WHEN THE PROPELLERS ARE FIRING. SO ON PLUTO, YOU REALLY HAVE TO RAISE THE THRESHOLD. WHEN WE ARE IN HIBERNATION WE DO NOT SHOOT ANYTHING. THEY LOWER THE PRESSURE TO BE MORE SENSITIVE. ON PLUTO WE WILL BE PUSHING, MANEUVERING AND TAKING PHOTOS. THAT ACTUALLY CAUSES MILD DISTURBANCES ON THE SPACESHIP. BUT THERE'S REALLY NO NERVOUSNESS AS TO THE PICTURES. ONLY THE MOVEMENT OF THE SHIP AND ATTITUDE CONTROL. EVERYTHING WELL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CHRIS, FOR INFORMING US ABOUT THE SPACESHIP.

DEFINITELY. . ALRIGHT. NEXT FROM THE NASA RESEARCH CENTER IS KIM ENNICO, HERE TO TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE ON THE TEAM AND THE PREPARATIONS THEY ARE MAKING FOR THE FLIGHT TO PLUTO ON JULY 14. So KIM? EVERYTHING WELL. SO BEING A NASA MEMBER, I WANT TO CONVEY TO YOU A DAY IN THE LIFE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. WE ARE 37 DAYS FROM THE CLOSEST. WE ARE ON THE DAY OF THE YEAR 157. AND MANY TIMES THESE NUMBERS AND DATES ARE IN MY HEAD. BECAUSE IN THE COURSE OF A SINGLE DAY I CAN BE THINKING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT WAS MONTHS AGO, WEEKS AGO, THIS MORNING, TOMORROW, NEXT WEEK AND NEXT YEAR.

SO MAKING THIS MALARBISM. SO I JUST WANT TO GIVE YOU A FEEL OF A DAY IN THE LIFE OF TRADING. THE MISSION IS LONG. NINE AND A HALF YEARS. RELEASED IN 2006. ARRIVES IN BLUE ON JULY 14, 2015, NINE AND A HALF YEARS OLD. IT'S NOT YOU LAUNCH IT, PUT IT TO SLEEP AND FORGET IT FOR NINE YEARS. WHAT THIS REPRESENTS HERE IS SEVEN YEARS OF THE MISSION ANSWERED ON A SLIDE, COLOR CODING THE TIMES FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, THE DIFFERENT PERIODS OF ACTIVITIES. TYPICALLY AFTER VERIFICATION OF THE LAUNCH INSTRUMENTS, THE FLIGHT OF JUPITER WHICH OCCURRED A YEAR AND A HALF AFTER LAUNCH ENTER THIS CRUISE MODE.

DURING THE COURSE OF CRUISE MODE, THE INSTRUMENTS WENT TO SLEEP SEVERAL MONTHS OF THE YEAR AND WAKE UP ABOUT TWICE A YEAR FOR WHICH WE WOULD MAKE CALIBRATIONS. LET'S SEE IF EVERYTHING IS OK. CHECKING IF THE TEMPERATURES WORK WELL. THIS HAS BEEN THE COURSE OF ACTION FOR THE PAST SEVEN YEARS. COLORS REPRESENT†: PURPLE IS WHEN IT'S IN SPIN MODE, WHICH CHRIS ALLUDED TO. IT GIVES US STABILIZATION SO THAT THE ANTENNA POINTING TO THE GROUND SAVES FUEL. THEN WE DON'T TAKE ANY PHOTOS. THOSE YELLOW PERIODS HERE, SURE, JUST A WEEK HERE, A WEEK THERE TWICE A YEAR.

THIS IS WHEN WE GO TO THREE AXIS MODE TO MAKE SOME OBSERVATIONS. WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 2015. OUR MEETING STARTED IN JANUARY. YES, JULY 14TH IS GOING TO BE THE DAY. BUT OUR TEAM IS VERY BUSY RIGHT NOW. IN FACT, IT'S VERY BUSY NOW. AND I HAVE INDICATED A RED LINE WHERE JUNE 6. P MINUS 38. BLUE MINUS 38 DAYS. WE WOKE UP FROM HIBERNATION IN DECEMBER OF LAST YEAR, ENTERED THREE-AXIS MODE AND STARTED A SERIES OF OPTICAL NAVIGATION USING THE INSTRUMENT TO LOOK AT PLUTO, KAREN, NIX AND HYDRA WITH TWO DIFFERENT MODES AND MEASURE PRECISELY WHERE WE ARE POINTING.

WE USED THAT INFORMATION AND DID A CORRECTION MOVEMENT A FEW MONTHS AGO. AND WE ARE PLANNING THE NEXT MANEUVER ON JUNE 15. HOWEVER, THAT IS NOT SAFE, BECAUSE TODAY'S TEAM IS LOOKING AT DATA THAT WAS TAKEN THREE DAYS AGO AND PROCESSED TODAY. THEY ARE LOOKING AT IT, ANALYZING IT AND ON MONDAY A DECISION WILL BE MADE WHETHER OR NOT WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE WITH THE BURNING IN A COUPLE OF DAYS. SO IT'S TOO BUSY RIGHT NOW TO MAKE SENSE OF THEM. WHEN WE REACH JULY 14TH, A COUPLE OF DAYS BEFORE THE BAR TURNED ORANGE. THAT'S JUST AN INDICATION THAT WE HAVE PUT THE SPACECRAFT INTO A PARTICULAR MODE CALLED "ENCOUNTER MODE." WHERE THE AUTONOMY WILL RESTART THE COMMANDER IN CASE WE HAVE A DATA IN THE EVENT OF COMMAND FAILURE.

WE CAN'T WAIT FOR THE SPACESHIP TO BE SAFE. WE TEST IT DURING TEST A YEAR AND A HALF AGO BECAUSE WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE SPACECRAFT†... THAT ALL THE SYSTEMS ON THE SPACECRAFT WOULD RUN. So doing a full rehearsal of what we're going to do with the spacecraft this summer, this July, two races ago, left a lot of uncertainties about how the actual spacecraft will behave. GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. I WANT TO POINT THIS OUT. IF EVERYONE DOESN'T KNOW THIS AMAZING SITE, LOOK AT NASA.GOV. THIS IS A SCREENSHOT FROM APRIL WHEN WE DID A TEST SIMULATING THE GROUND SUPPORT WE NEED FOR A PARTICULAR TYPE OF EXPERIMENT WE ARE GOING TO DO DURING THE OCCULTATIONS OF PLUTO AND KAREN.

WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS THIS IS MADRID, GOLD STONE AND WITH BERRA. WE HAD FIVE ANTENNAS IN USE. NOW WE ARE CHANGING TO LIVE. AND I WANT TO NOTE THAT IF YOU GO RIGHT NOW, YOU WILL SEE THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY TALKING TO CANBERRA. OUR CALL SIGN IS NHPC. THIS IS 70 METERS, THE LARGEST PLATE. THESE ARE 34 METERS. TODAY WE ARE DOWNLOADING DATA THAT WE TOOK IN THE LAST DAYS. IN FACT TODAY'S DATA WAS EARLIER IN THE MORNING, OPTICAL NAVIGATION. RIGHT NOW WE ARE OBTAINING HAZARD DATA. WE CALL IT MOON SEARCH DATA, HAZARD DATA. WE TAKE A STRATEGIC LOOK AT THE PLUTO SYSTEM, LOOKING FOR MOONS TO INFORM THE PROJECT WHETHER OR NOT WE NEED TO MAKE A COURSE CORRECTION.

WE HAVE NOT SEEN ANYTHING TO DATE, BUT WE ARE STILL TAKING THESE LOOKS. WE HAVE SPECIFIC TIMES AND SCHEDULES AND CAN MAKE THE DECISION TO GO TO A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT SPACE GRABING PATH OR ATTITUDE. WE WILL SHOW YOU THE LATEST IMAGES FROM THE LORI CAMERA PUBLISHED ON THE WEBSITE. GO TO THE MAIN WEBSITE. THERE'S THIS LITTLE CAMERA ICON. I WILL SHOW YOU LORI'S IMAGES. AND HERE IS ONE. THIS IS A SCREENSHOT. BUT IF YOU LOOK NOW YOU WILL SEE THAT IT IS DATA TAKEN FROM JUNE 6TH THAT IS SHOWN HERE RIGHT NOW. THEY ARE SHOWING THEM THE SYSTEM.

AND YOU CAN LOOK AT THE THUMBNAILS AND FOLLOW THEM. MY MESSAGE IS THAT WE DON'T WAIT UNTIL JULY 14TH. JULY 14TH WILL BE EPIC. THE SPACECRAFT WILL BE BUSY TAKING PHOTOS OF PLUTO. WE'RE GONNA BE SITTING AND WAITING. BUT RIGHT NOW WE ARE TAKING SOME NEW DATA THAT IS COMMUNICATING WITH THE SPACECRAFT AND MAKING A LOT OF DECISIONS RIGHT NOW. WE CAN MOVE FORWARD. TO GIVE YOU A LOOK THAT WILL GIVE MEANING OF THE CURRENT DAY NOW IN MY LIFE AND ALSO IN THE LIFE OF THE TEAM, BECAUSE I WANT TO QUOTE ONE OF MY HEROES, EMMETT FROM THE LEGO MOVIE.

EVERYTHING LOOKS SOME BUT ALL GOOD WHEN YOU ARE PART OF A TEAM. WE HAVE TO HAVE SO MANY DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES REVIEWING DATA PRODUCTS. So I've hinted that over the course of a day I might start my morning by talking about something we did three months ago. WE'RE SITTING ON A REVIEW OF SOMETHING THAT WILL GO UP TO THE SPACECRAFT IN TWO DAYS NOW, TO PLAN FOR THE DOWNLINK OF DATA THAT WILL OCCUR OVER THE NEXT YEAR AND A HALF. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF A LOAD WE WERE REVIEWING THAT IS FOR THE FLIGHT. WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS A STK IMAGE.

GREEN REPRESENTS THE FIELD OF VIEW OF THE LORI IMAGE. TO QUOTE ONE OF OUR SEQUENCERS, WHEN SHE MADE THESE PICTURES IT WAS ALL SAD BECAUSE THEY GET SMALLER AND SMALLER AS WE GET FURTHER AND FAR AWAY. THE LIGHTING IS DIFFERENT. WE FLY WHEN PLUTO AND CHARON ARE ILLUMINATED. WORLDS BECOME DARKER AND JUST VERY DIFFERENT. WE HAVE MANY SPECIFIC SERIES OF IMAGES THAT WE ARE GOING TO TAKE. LOOK AT THE BAG IN THESE THIN STOCKINGS FOR DUST. WE ARE NOT GOING BACK. SO THIS IS SOMETHING WE ARE PLANNING FOR JULY 21ST. WELL. AND IT HAD BEEN MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY THAT WE ARE DOWNLOADING DATA THEMSELVES.

WE ARE IN JUNE. AND THE DATA COVERS ALL TYPES OF SCIENCES. WHEN WE GET TO THE ACTUAL MEETING IN JULY, WE HAVE TO FILL THE RECORDERS AS BEST AS POSSIBLE. WE ARE NOT LINKING THAT MUCH. BECAUSE EVERY SECOND OF LOOKING AT THE EARTH IS A SECOND OF NOT LOOKING AT PLUTO. WHEN YOU GO THROUGH 50,000 KILOMETERS AN HOUR, YOU WANT TO TAKE AS MANY PHOTOS AND SPECTRA AS YOU CAN. So we just filled the hard banks. WE HAVE A COUPLE OF DATA FRAGMENTS. IN AUGUST, WHICH IS A YEAR AND A HALF AWAY, WE WILL BE DOWNLOADING THIS DATA.

I'M INVOLVED IN THE PLANNING FOR THAT. So over the course of a day, I've been thinking about the past. I'M LOOKING AT DATA. DO SCIENCE. I'M HELPING REVIEW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO THE SPACECRAFT IN A MONTH, IN A WEEK, IN A COUPLE OF DAYS. I'M THINKING ABOUT THE FUTURE. WE ARE PREPARING FOR THE MEETING. TODAY WE ARE RECEIVING DATA FOR THE HAZARD TEAM. THEY ARE RIGHT NOW ANALYZING THE DATA BECAUSE THEY NEED TO MAKE A DECISION ON MONDAY. SO IT IS A VERY ACTIVE PERIOD FOR THE WHOLE TEAM. YOU CAN KEEP US WATCHING THAT WEBSITE.

WE DON'T TALK ABOUT DSN ALL THE TIME BUT WE TALK SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK. AND ALSO LOOK AT THE WEBSITE TO SEE THE LATEST IMAGES OF LORI. IT'S A VERY EXCITING TIME NOW. And we haven't even gotten to July 14. WE HAVE 37 DAYS LEFT. EVERYTHING WELL. THANK YOU SO MUCH KIM FOR SHARING WITH US A LITTLE ABOUT WHAT THE DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE TEAM IS LIKE, HOW THEY ARE PREPARING FOR THE PREPARATIONS AND EVERYTHING. AND KIM IS ACTIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. SHE CAN DEFINITELY ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS THERE. USE THE HASHTAG ASK NASA. MARVELOUS. ALRIGHT. YEAH.

SO NEXT, IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, WE WANT TO OFFER A GREAT WAY FOR YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN FLIGHT TRACKING. WE SAW A GLANCE OF ALL THE PLANNING KIM WAS TALKING ABOUT AND EVERYTHING. AND YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE WITH NASA'S EYES ON THE SOLAR SYSTEM WITH YOUR EYES ON THE PLUTO MODULE A LITTLE BIT OF HOW YOU CAN ALSO OBSERVE AND FOLLOW DURING THE ENTIRE FLIGHT SEQUENCE. HERE TO TALK A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THIS IS KEVIN HUSSEY FROM NASA'S JET PROPULSION LABORATORY. KEVIN? THANK YOU. HE LEADS A GROUP AT THE JET PRO Puddle LABORATORY WHOSE JOB IS TO VISUALIZE THE DATA COLLECTED BY NASA.

ONE OF THE TOOLS THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN MENTIONED IS NASA'S EYES. EYES ON NASA.GOV. MY GOAL HERE IN THE NEXT MINUTES IS TO TRAIN YOU HOW TO BECOME VIRTUAL EXPLORERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM USING NASA.GOV EYES. YOU START BY ENTERING THE WEBSITE. WHEN YOU DO IT YOU WILL SEE A BIG DOWNLOAD BUTTON. WHEN YOU DOWNLOAD, YOU WILL LITERALLY DOWNLOAD IT ESSENTIALLY LIKE A VIDEO GAME. WE USE VIDEO GAME TECHNOLOGY TO ALLOW YOU TO VISUALIZE WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM. NOW, I'VE ALREADY DONE THAT, OBVIOUSLY. SO I'M GOING TO MINIMIZE THIS. ONCE YOU DOWNLOAD IT, YOU WILL GET AN ICON THAT SAYS NASA EYES.

BY THE WAY, THIS IS A LIVE DEMO. I HAVE BEEN WARNED ABOUT DOING LIVE DEMONSTRATIONS. IT DOESN'T SCARE ME. I'M GOING TO DOUBLE CLICK ON THIS TO SHOW YOU WHAT IT WILL LOOK LIKE ONCE YOU DOWNLOAD THIS SOFTWARE. WE HAVE MANY DIFFERENT PRODUCTS. WE HAVE ONE THAT TALKS ABOUT THE EARTH. WE HAVE TWO FOR THE SOLAR SYSTEM. AND WE HAVE ONE FOR EXOPLANETS, PLANETS DISCOVERED AROUND OTHER STARS. WE ALSO HAVE THESE LINKS AT THE BOTTOM WHICH ARE SUBSETS OF EYES ON THE SOLAR SYSTEM. WELL. ONE OF WHICH IS CALLED EYES ON PLUTO. THAT'S THE ONE I WILL SPEND MOST OF MY TIME ON TODAY.

BEFORE DOING THIS, I WANT TO NOTE HERE EYES ON THE SOLAR SUBSTANTIAL HAS A SIMPLE AND ADVANCED MODE. SIMPLE MODE IS FOR EVERYONE OVER 30 YEARS OLD. ADVANCED MODE IS FOR THE REST OF US. WE START BY SHOWING YOU THE ADVANCED MODE TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF CONTEXT. ONE OF THE IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO IS MAKE SURE YOU GO TO THE SCREEN. WE REMIND YOU THAT THERE IS A CHANGE HERE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO GO TO FULL SCREEN. WE PROVIDE YOU WITH A VIRTUAL CAMERA. IT LOOKS LIKE A MOUSE BUT IT'S ACTUALLY YOUR CAMERA. BY CLICKING AND DRAGING SOMEWHERE IN SPACE, YOU CAN CHANGE THE CAMERA'S POINT OF VIEW.

AND THEN TO CHANGE THE CENTER OF YOUR FIELD OF VIEW, JUST DOUBLE CLICK ON A LABEL. I WILL DOUBLE CLICK ON MARS. WE WILL FLY TO MARS, DOWNLOAD THE DATA. ALL THE SATELLITES YOU SEE HERE AND CELESTIAL OBJECTS ARE IN THEIR CORRECT LOCATION. WE OFFER SCALE AND DISTANCE. So I'm going to back up here a little bit and keep zooming out. AND WE ARE GOING TO LOOK FOR NEW HORIZONS. AND THERE IT IS. IT IS BEYOND NEPTUNE. IF I DOUBLE CLICK ON THE SPACESHIP, WE WILL TRAVEL TO NEW HORIZONS. THERE IT IS SPINNING AT ITS PROPER RHYTHM, POINTING ITS ANTENNA BACKWARDS AT THE EARTH.

AND PLUTO IS IN THE DISTANCE. NOW I CAN SPEND A LOT OF TIME SHOWING ALL THE DIFFERENT CONTROLS AT THE BOTTOM. I DO NOT HAVE THAT MUCH TIME. I'm going to let you do it on your own. WHAT I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU IS SOMETHING WE BUILT CALLED EYES ON PLUTO WHICH GIVES YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONFIGURE THE USER INTERFACE IN A SPECIFIC WAY FOR THIS PARTICULAR MISSION. UNDER "TOURISM FEATURES", CLICK ON "NEW HORIZONS". SO WHAT'S HAPPENING IS THAT WE'RE LOADING A SPECIAL USER INTERFACE THAT'S ABOUT THE NEW HORIZONS NEAREST TO PLUTO. COMPUTER SIMULATION ON TOP AND "LIVE".

THAT MEANS THAT'S WHERE NEW HORIZONS ARE NOW IN RELATION TO PLUTO. THAT IS ITS DISTANCE TO PLUTO, SPEED RELATIVE TO PLUTO, TIME OF CLOSEST APPROACH. 37 DAYS, 17 HOURS, 25 MINUTES. AND THEN I NOTICE ON THE RIGHT SIDE THAT IT HAS THE CURRENT TIME. SO THAT'S RIGHT NOW. THERE ARE TWO MODES. WE ARE IN LIVE MODE. THERE IS ALSO A PREVIEW MODE. BEFORE WE GO TO PREVIEW MODE, I WANT TO SHOW YOU THE CAMERA MODES. WE ARE IN TRAVEL MODE, WHICH MEANS WE ARE TRAVELING WITH THE SPACECRAFT AND THE CAMERA IS LOCKING ON THE UNSTOPPABLE PLUTO. IF I CLICK AND DRAG, PLUTO REMAINS IN THE FIELD OF VIEW.

IF I SWITCH TO THE SPACESHIP CAMERA, THE FOCUS IS ON NEWHORIZONS. SO I CAN SPIN AND LOOK AT THE DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTS, SPIN, COME BACK TO THE EARTH, LOOK WHERE I WANT. AND THEN THERE IS†-- I'LL GET TO THE OVERVIEW WHEN I GO INTO PREVIEW MODE. SO I'M GOING TO LEAVE THAT CAMERA FOR PREVIEW MODE. AND I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND CLICK ON PREVIEW. WHAT THE PREVIEW WILL DO, IT TAKES ONE DAY FROM THE EVENT. I'M GOING TO GO RIDE. AND NOW YOU ARE LOOKING AT WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN ON JULY 13 AT 10:00 A.M.

WHEN YOU SEE THOSE COLORED LINES PROJECTED FROM THE SPACECRAFT, THOSE ARE THE FIELD OF VIEW LINES OF THE VARIOUS INSTRUMENTS. IT'S ALREADY TEN MINUTES PER SECOND. THIS IS THE SEQUENCE THAT OUR COLLEAGUES HERE IN A PL GAVE US. THIS IS WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING AS THE TIME IS INDICATED. SO IF YOU COME TO SOFTWARE THAT MORNING. IT'S ABOUT 50,000 MILES AWAY. I'M GOING TO GO AT ABOUT 30 SECONDS PER SECOND. YOU CAN SEE THAT THE SPACESHIP IS VERY, VERY ACTIVE DURING THIS PERIOD. YOU CAN SEE WHERE IT IS. THIS WINDOW HERE SHOWS YOU WHAT INSTRUMENTS ARE ON.

So, for example, let me cut it. YOU CAN SEE, LORI, RALPH, ALICE, THEY'RE ALL ON, WHICH MEANS THEY MAY BE TAKING DATA. LORI'S FIELD OF VIEW IS 1000†x†1000 IMAGE. THERE IS ANOTHER FEATURE. YOU CAN Hover Over EACH OF THE INSTRUMENT NAMES AND WE WILL TELL YOU WHAT THOSE INSTRUMENTS DO. SO THIS TOOL, NASA'S EYES, ALLOWS YOU TO BE THE ARMCHAIR EXPLORER. I PROMISE I WOULD SHOW YOU THE SPACESHIP†-- EXCUSE ME, THE SUMMARY. IF YOU PRESS SUMMARY, IT SHOWS YOU WHERE THE SPACECRAFT IS IN RELATION TO THE SYSTEM. AND, AGAIN, ON JULY 14 AT 7:00 IN THE MORNING, IT KEEPS COMING.

ALRIGHT. SO NOW I WILL PAUSE FOR ANY QUESTIONS THERE MAY HAVE IN THE ROOM OR ELSEWHERE. WE HAVE TIME FOR A QUICK QUESTION. ANY QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT. THE SOFTWARE IS NOT OPEN SOURCE BUT IT IS AVAILABLE TO ANYONE ON A WINDOW OR MACINTOSH COMPUTER TO OPERATE IN THIS WAY. WONDERFUL. HOPEFULLY YOU DOWNLOAD EYES ON THE SOLAR SYSTEM TO FOLLOW THE FLIGHT. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT EVERYTHING PRE-FLIGHT. VISIT NASA.GOV/NEW HORIZONS. MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW EVERYTHING NASA HAS ON SOCIAL MEDIA. THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US TODAY AT THE NASA SOCIAL. WE ARE VERY EXCITED. COMING ON JULY 14TH.

PLUTO IS COMING. WE HOPE TO GET SOME OF THE BEST RESULTS WE'VE EVER HAD AND LOOK AT A WHOLE NEW PERSPECTIVE ON PLUTO. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US AT TODAY'S NASA SOCIAL. GO NEW HORIZONS!