Discovery and exploration of Pluto?

Answer 1

DISCOVERY

Pluto was discovered in 1930, Charon in 1978 and the two smaller moons Hydra and Nix were discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2005. The names are connected in Roman and Greek mytholiogy Pluto (Hades) was the underworld, Charon the ferryman who took dead souls there across the river Styx, Hydra was the many-headed monster that guarded the underworld and Nyx was the goddess of the night.

EXPLORATION

A New Horizons rocket was launched in January 2006 that will flyby Pluto and Charon in 2015. It is already making observations of Jupiter and will get a gravity assist to speed it along its nine-and-a-half-year journey to Pluro.

Mission Schedule:

January 19, 2006 — Successful launch at 14:00 EST (1900 UTC) after brief delay due to cloud cover.
April 7, 2006 — the probe passed Mars' orbit.
June 2006 - the probe entered the asteroid belt.
June 13, 2006 - the probe passed the asteroid 2002 JF56 at about 101,867 km at 04:05 UTC.
February 28, 2007 — Jupiter flyby. Closest approach will be around 05:41 UTC at 2.305 million km, 21.219 km/s.
June 9, 2008 - The probe will pass Saturn's orbit.
March 5, 2011 - The probe will pass Uranus' orbit.
August 1, 2014 - The probe will pass Neptune's orbit.
July 14, 2015 — Flyby of Pluto around 11:59 UTC at 11096 km, 13.780 km/s
July 14, 2015 — Flyby of Charon around 12:13 UTC at 26927 km, 13.875 km/s
2016-2020 - possible flyby of one or more Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs).

Mission Objectives:

Primary Objectives (Required)

a) Characterize the global geology and morphology of Pluto and Charon
b) Map chemical compositions of Pluto and Charon surfaces
c) Characterize the neutral (non-ionized) atmosphere of Pluto and its escape rate

Loss of any of these objectives will constitute a failure of the mission.

Secondary Objectives (Expected)

a) Characterize the time variability of Pluto's surface and atmosphere
b) Image select Pluto and Charon areas in stereo
c) Map the terminators (day/night border) of Pluto and Charon with high resolution
d) Map the chemical compositions of select Pluto and Charon areas with high resolution
e) Characterize Pluto's ionosphere, and its interaction with the solar wind
f) Search for neutral species such as H2, HCN, hydrocarbons, and other nitriles in the atmosphere
g) Search for any Charon atmosphere
h) Determine bolometric bond albedos for Pluto and Charon
i) Map surface temperatures of Pluto and Charon

It is expected, but not demanded, that most of these objectives will be met.

Tertiary Objectives (Desired)

a) Characterize the energetic particle environment at Pluto and Charon
b) Refine bulk parameters (radii, masses) and orbits of Pluto and Charon
c) Search for additional moons, and any rings

These objectives may be attempted, though they may be skipped in favor of the above objectives.

FURTHER READING

For more details of the instrumentation on board and the previously planned mission that would have reached Pluto by 2012 but was cancelled for budget reasons, see the links below:

Answer 2

Pluto, as the largest Kuiper Belt Object, was discovered years before others (smaller and fainter) were found. We now know of over 800 KBOs (found in the last 14 years), so it is not that remarkable and it is not on the outermost fringes of the Solar System, as was once thought. It seems surprising therefore that a rocket has been dispatched there to study Pluto and Charon in 2015.

The cost of the New Horizons mission (including spacecraft and instrument development, launch vehicle, mission operations, data analysis, and education/public outreach) is approximately $650 million over 15 years (from 2001 to 2016).

Could this money not be better spent?

Answer 3

No rocket has as yet done a flyby of Pluto though as the previous answer tells you, one is now in its way. Partly because it takes nearly ten years to travel that far and partly because the power used up in getting there means there is not a lot of power left over to transmit data back to Earth

Clyde William Tombaugh (February 4, 1906 – January 17, 1997) was an American astronomer who discovered the dwarf planet Pluto in 1930. Tombaugh was employed at the Lowell Observatory from 1929 to 1945.

While a young researcher working for Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, Tombaugh found Pluto during a systematic search for a trans-Neptunian planet, which had been predicted by Percival Lowell and William Pickering.

Tombaugh was taking pains in using a blink comparator to compare photographs of sections of sky taken several nights apart. When he shifted between the two images, a moving object, such as a planet, would appear to jump from one position to another, while the more distant objects such as stars would appear stationary. Tombaugh noticed such a moving object in his search, and subsequent observations showed it to be the object we call Pluto. The discovery was made on February 18, 1930, using images taken in January of the same year.

The name "Pluto" was suggested by Venetia Burney, then an 11-year-old English school girl, who is still alive and living in England.

The asteroid 1604 Tombaugh 1, discovered in 1931, is named after him. He himself discovered 14 asteroids, beginning with 2839 Annette in 1929, mostly as a by-product of his search for Pluto and his further searches for other celestial objects.

Asteroids discovered by Tombaugh
Designation Discovery
2839 Annette October 5, 1929
2941 Alden December 24, 1930
3310 Patsy October 9, 1931
3583 Burdett October 5, 1929
3754 Kathleen March 16, 1931
3775 Ellenbeth October 6, 1931
3824 Brendalee October 5, 1929
4510 Shawna December 13, 1930
4755 Nicky October 6, 1931
(5701) 1929 VS October 26, 1929
(6618) 1936 SO September 16, 1936
(7101) 1930 UX October 17, 1930
(7150) 1929 TD1 October 11, 1929
(8778) 1931 TD3 October 10, 1931

Part of his ashes are being carried on the New Horizons spacecraft which is travelling towards Pluto.

Answer 4

Let us start with the exploration of the near and dear ones. One step at a time. after the Mars exploration is over we can target Pluto.
By the way they had declassified Pluto from planets, a sort of red card.

Answer 5

We ought to say something here about Percival Lowell and the role he played in the hunt for Pluto.

Percival Lowell (March 13, 1855 – November 12, 1916) was an author, mathematician, and esteemed astronomer who fuelled speculation that there were canals on Mars, founded the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, and formed the beginning of the work and theories that led to the discovery of Pluto 14 years after his death.

He discovered one asteroid, in 1907 and named it 793 Arizona.

In 1894 he moved to Flagstaff, Arizona. At an altitude of over 7000 feet, and with few cloudy nights, it was an excellent site for astronomical observations. For the next fifteen years he studied Mars extensively, and made intricate drawings of the surface markings as he perceived them. Lowell published his views in three books: Mars (1895), Mars and Its Canals (1906), and Mars As the Abode of Life (1908).

He thereby instigated the long-held belief that Mars had once sustained intelligent life forms.

His works include a detailed description of what he termed the 'non-natural features' of the planet's surface, including especially a full account of the 'canals,' single and double; the 'oases,' as he termed the dark spots at their intersections; and the varying visibility of both, depending partly on the Martian seasons.

He upheld the theory that the canals had been constructed for the purpose of 'husbanding' Mars's scanty water-supply.

Lowell's greatest contribution to planetary studies came during the last 8 years of his life, which he devoted to the search for Planet X, which was the designation for a planet beyond Neptune.

The search continued for a number of years after his death at Flagstaff in 1916; the planet, named Pluto was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930. The symbol for the planet is a stylized "PL" , chosen in part to honor Lowell.

It is interesting to note that predictions of a planet beyond Neptune were based on discrepancies between the predicted and observed positions of Neptune and Uranus, and the erroneous assumption that such discrepancies were caused by the gravitational influence of an unknown planet.

In fact, the discrepancies were due to erroneous values for the masses of Neptune and Uranus; with modern precise values, the discrepancies disappear, and in any case it is now known that the mass of Pluto is far too small to exert any appreciable gravitational influence on other planets.

Answer 6

Pluto is my favorite planet. HAHA. E something or another is just a stupid name they spent weeks coming up with because the scientists had nothing better to do.

Answer 7

No, not going to happen. there are lot of other better things to explore. Europa, Titan, Mars, Asteroid belt.

Answer 8

It's no longer Pluto--it's now "# 134340."

Answer 9

No thanx, i'm trying to quit.

Answer 10

nah, it will always be mickey's dog