Pluto & Charon
and Planet X
Exploring Distant worlds
Pre-decisional
Pluto is just one of
hundreds of objects in
The Kuiper Belt the
Hundreds of small icy
worlds to explore - the keys
to understanding the origin
of our solar system
Pre-decisional
Pluto was discovered in
1930 by Clyde Tombaugh
at the Lowell
Observatory, Arizona
Tombaugh spent many nights at
the telescope, many days
looking at photographic plates looking for objects that move
relative to the stars
Pre-decisional
The Planets at a Glance
Small
Inner
Rocky
Planets
Misfit
Planets
Giant
Outer
Gas
Planets
Pre-decisional
Pluto orbits the Sun on an elliptical path, tilted from the plane of
the planets, between 30 and 50 times the distance of the Earth
from the Sun.
Pre-decisional
Looking down on the solar
system - the orbits of the outer
planets
Keeping Neptune fixed and
watching the paths of the other
planets for millions of years
Pluto now
Because Pluto is sometimes
closer to the Sun than Neptune,
some people thought it might be
an escaped moon of Neptune.
But orbital calculations show that
Pluto and Neptune’s orbits are in
a 3:2 resonance - they dance
together - but never get close.
Pre-decisional
In 1978 John Christy discovered that Pluto has a moon
Charon
Even with a good telescope, the Earth’s atmosphere makes
tiny Pluto look very fuzzy
Pre-decisional
Pre-decisional
Pre-decisional
Even with the best
telescopes in the
world, Pluto and
Charon are very
hard to see.
This image was
taken with the new
Subaru telescope on
Mauna Kea, Hawaii
Pre-decisional
Seeing is Understanding
Pluto at
Best HST Resolution
Triton at
Best HST Resolution
Earth’s Moon at the
Same Resolution
HST = Hubble Space Telescope
Pre-decisional
Hubble’s Best Pictures
Smoothed and modeled images
Pre-decisional
Pre-decisional
Temperature:
40 Kelvin
-233 Celsius
-340 F
Surface = Ice
Pre-decisional
• In 1988 a star
moved behind
Pluto
• Several observers
around the world
watched the
starlight fade and
then briefly
blocked by Pluto.
• Pluto has an
atmosphere
Pre-decisional
The solar wind interacts with Pluto’s
atmosphere like a comet
Pre-decisional
Pre-decisional
Pre-decisional
Is this really what Pluto is like?
Time to go explore!
Pre-decisional
1989-2003: Getting a
Mission to Pluto
Pre-decisional
Ted Nichols
started this
website as a high
school student
Sign the petition
http://www.plutomission.com/
Pre-decisional
• Nov. 29, 2001
Mission Selected by
NASA
• Currently being
built
• Launch 2006
• Arrive at Pluto 2016
Pre-decisional
Science Team:
PI: Alan Stern
Fran Bagenal
Rick Binzel
Bonnie Buratti
Andy Cheng
Dale Cruikshank
Randy Gladstone
Will Grundy
Dave Hinson
Mihaly Horanyi
Don Jennings
Ivan Linscott
Jeff Moore
Dave McComas
Bill McKinnon
Ralph McNutt
Scott Murchie
Carolyn Porco
Harold Reitsema
Dennis Reuter
Dave Slater
John Spencer
Darrel Strobel
Mike Summers
Len Tyler
Hal Weaver
Leslie Young
• 100s
of engineers build the spacecraft
• Team of 30 scientists
(how many still active when we get to Pluto?!)
• 1000s of students involved
- someone as to do the work when we get there!
Pre-decisional
The New
Horizons
spacecraft
To be built by The
Johns Hopkins
Applied Physics Lab
with Ball Aerospace
and Southwest
Research Institute
Pre-decisional
You need a big
antenna to send the
data back from
distant Pluto
Camera
Pre-decisional
New Horizons - Student Dust Counter
Designed, Built, Tested,
Operated, Analyzed by
Students at CU
Pre-decisional
New Horizons Mission
• 2006 Launch
 Launch date:
 Jan 11 - Feb 14,
2006
 S/C launch mass:
465 kg
 Pluto arrival:
2015-2020
NH
Star 48B
Atlas V
New Horizons
to be launched on
Atlas 551 with Star
48B upper stage
from Cape Canaveral,
Florida
Pre-decisional
2006 Baseline Mission Design
Launch Sequence & Timeline
PLF Jettison,
Continue
CCB Solo
Phase
CCB
Burnout
and
Centaur
Separation
Park Orbit
Centaur Coast
Phase
1st
Burn
Phase
Centaur
2nd
Burn
Phase
Orient
Payload
Separate
Payload
Launch
Feb 2, 2006
SRB Burnout
and
Jettison,
CCB Solo
Phase
Star 48B
Burn
phase
Separate
Spacecraft
Sun Terminator
Park Orbit
Coast Start
Shadow
To Jupiter
CCB RD-180
and SRB Ignition
Atlas V 551
Time ticks
every 5 min
SC Separation
Injection Burn
Canberra
(Stage II +Star 48B) Contact
Pre-decisional
The best way to get to Pluto is to use Jupiter’s
strong gravity as a “slingshot”
….. but Jupiter is only in the right place every 13 years.
Pre-decisional
2006 Baseline Mission Design
Mission Trajectory – Jupiter Gravity Assist
Pluto Encounter
July 2015
July 2016
July 2017
Onward to Kuiper Belt Object(s)
Neptune
Jupiter Gravity Assist Flyby
Feb - Mar 2007
Saturn
Jupiter
Uranus
Launch
Jan 11 – Feb 2, 2006
Planetary position
at Pluto encounter
in July 2015
Pre-decisional
Flying Past Jupiter in Spring 2007 - Using Jupiter’s Gravity to
boost speed, test equipment, and do a little science.
Pre-decisional
New Horizons Mission
Triton
• Approach pictures better
than Hubble for 150 days
before arrival
What will we see? Our
best guess is that Pluto
will be like Neptune’s
moon Triton
… or probably not??
• Total cost $488M over
10 years
(~2 candy bars per person
in US)
Pre-decisional
2006 Baseline Mission Design
Pluto-Charon Encounter Geometry – Arrival July 14, 2015
Charon-Earth Occultation
14:37:35
Pluto-Earth Occultation
13:10:44
Charon
14:00
Pluto
Sun
Earth
13:00
Charon-Sun Occultation
14:35:29
0.24°
Pluto-Sun Occultation
13:09:54
12:00
Charon C/A
12:33:47
26,673 km
13.87 km/s
Pluto C/A
12:20:00
11,095 km
13.77 km/s
Pre-decisional
Pre-decisional
Pluto is just the
beginning - onward
to the Kuiper Belt!
the
Hundreds of worlds to
explore - the keys to
understanding the origin of
our solar system
Pre-decisional
Kuiper Belt Object Detection
QuickTime™ and a
GIF decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
QuickTime™ and a
GIF decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Pre-decisional
The Kuiper Belt
Neptune
U
S
J
729 Objects Discovered Since 1992
Pre-decisional
Pre-decisional
The Kuiper Belt
• 1000s of objects - Ice (+ rock)
• Dark (radiation? organics?)
• 100 - 1000 miles across
• Source of comets?
• Boundary at 50 AU?
• Scattered during outward migration of Neptune?
........ are there other, bigger planets out there?
Planet X?
Pre-decisional
Pre-decisional
History of Planet X
• 2500 BC - Sumarian tablets show story of how the Earth was made when the planet Tiamat was
broken up in a collision with Nibiru (Planet X).
•1841 - John Couch Adams began investigating residuals in the motion of Uranus. Adams presented
two different solutions to the problem, assuming that the deviations were caused by the gravitation
from an unknown planet.
• 1845 - Urbain Le Verrier started investigating Uranus’ motion. On Sept 30, 1846 --- one week after
the discovery of Neptune, Le Verrier declared that there may be still another unknown planet out there.
• Percival Lowell, most well known as a proponent for canals on Mars, built a private observatory in
Flagstaff, Arizona. Lowell called his hypothetical planet Planet X, and performed several searches for
it, without success. Lowell's first search for Planet X came to an end in 1909, but in 1913 he started a
second search, with a new prediction of Planet X. Lowell and others searched in vain for this Planet X
in 1913-1915. In 1915, Lowell published his theoretical results of Planet X. It is ironic that this very
same year, 1915, two faint images of Pluto was recorded at Lowell observatory, although they were
never recognized as such until after the discovery of Pluto (1930).
• In 1982, NASA announcement that 'some kind of mystery object is really there - far beyond the
outermost planets'. One year later, the newly launched IRAS (Infrared Astronomical Satellite) spotted a
large mysterious object in the depths of space.
....... Planet X - mystery planet just beyond bounds of detection
Pre-decisional
Pre-decisional
Was Planet X Observed by the Sumerians?
Pre-decisional
Some parting speculations.....
Will we find a Planet X before
New Horizons gets to Pluto?
What’s between the Kuiper Belt
and the Oort Cloud?
Pre-decisional
...and a book recommendation
Pre-decisional
Let’s keep exploring!
Pre-decisional
New Horizons Mission
To Kuiper Belt Objects
 Ground-based campaign to locate candidate KBOs along the spacecraft
nominal trajectory up to 55 AU from Sun.
 On-board V is capable of reaching multiple KBOs with size > 40 km.
Region containing
potential KBO targets
55 AU
Sun
Pluto Encounter
33 – 34 AU





KBO1
40 AU
KBO2
50 AU
Select first KBO target before Pluto encounter.
Execute a TCM at P+14d to alter trajectory towards first KBO.
Obtain OpNav image of targeted KBO as early as 3-5 weeks out.
Refine KBO encounter accuracy with a trim TCM incorporating OpNav data.
KBO flyby velocities of 8 km/s to 14 km/s.
Pre-decisional
Lockheed Martin Atlas V 551
Launch Vehicle
Centaur Interstage
Adapter (12.5 ft Dia)
Centaur Forward
5-meter Short Payload Load Reactor
Fairing (68 ft)
Payload
Adapter (PLA)
Centaur Conical
Interstage Adapter
CCB Cylindrical
Interstage Adapter
Solid Rocket
Boosters
Aft Transition
Skirt/Heat Shield
RD-180 Engine
Centaur
Aft Stub
Adapter
Common Core
BoosterTM (CCB)
Single
RL10 Engine
Centaur
Upper
Stage
5-Meter
Payload Fairing
Boattail
Pre-decisional
Payload Configuration
Observatory or
Spacecraft
(S/C)
S/C Separation Plane
Payload
PAF
3rd
Stage
Fly Away
3rd Stage Separation Plane
STAR 48
3rd
Stage
Assembly
Spin Table &
Assembly
S/C & 3rd Stage
Separated Stack
LV Interface Plane
PLA
Launch
Vehicle
(LV)
Centaur
Pre-decisional
2006 Baseline Mission Design
Mission Trajectory – Pluto Direct
Pluto Encounter
July 2018
Aug 2019
July 2020
To Kuiper Belt Objects
Saturn
Neptune
Jupiter
Earth
Uranus
Planetary positions
at Pluto encounter
in July 2018
Launch
Feb 3 – 14, 2006
Pre-decisional
Pre-decisional
Pre-decisional
• Time to go explore!
• Mission selected
and ready to go
Pre-decisional
New Horizons: Overview
Science Team:
PI: Alan Stern
Fran Bagenal
Rick Binzel
Bonnie Buratti
Andy Cheng
Dale Cruikshank
Randy Gladstone
Will Grundy
Dave Hinson
Mihaly Horanyi
Don Jennings
Ivan Linscott
Jeff Moore
Dave McComas
Bill McKinnon
Ralph McNutt
Scott Murchie
Carolyn Porco
Harold Reitsema
Dennis Reuter
Dave Slater
John Spencer
Darrel Strobel
Mike Summers
Len Tyler
Hal Weaver
Leslie Young
New Horizons was one of the
consortia proposals submitted
for
AO-OSS-01,
NASA’s
request for flyby mission
proposals to Pluto-Charon and
the Kuiper Belt.
New Horizons was selected by
NASA on 29 Nov 2001.
The Senate and House funded
New Horizons to enter into
full-scale development in 2003.
New Horizons is now in Phase
C/D, and designated New
Frontiers 1.
Pre-decisional
Pre-decisional
Let’s keep
exploring!
Pre-decisional
Pre-decisional