14 DAY TRIAL // Launched nearly a decade ago, in January 2006, from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, US, the New Horizons probe is now merely a few hours away from reaching the Pluto system on the outskirts of our Solar System.
This coming Tuesday, July 14, the spacecraft will fly by the Pluto system and come within just 7,800 miles (12,500 kilometers) of the dwarf planet.
The much-awaited flyby will allow the New Horizons probe to image the orb and its accompanying moons in unprecedented detail. “It will be incredible,” NASA scientist Jeff Moore said in a recent interview.
The spacecraft carries the ashes of Pluto discoverer Clyde Tombaugh
Dwarf planet Pluto was first spotted lurking at the edge of the Solar System by American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh back in 1930. The researcher passed away in 1997, at the age of 90, and so did not get to witness the New Horizons probe embark on its epic journey to the orb he had discovered.
Now, this might come as a bit of a surprise, but as it turns out, an ounce (around 28 grams) of Clyde Tombaugh's ashes are aboard NASA's New Horizons spacecraft and so will very soon buzz by the dwarf planet and its moons.
The astronomer's ashes are kept safe in a capsule, HNGN tells us. They were offered to space agency NASA by Clyde Tombaugh's family, and they are accompanied by a short message inscribed on the capsule carrying them.
“Interned herein are remains of American Clyde W. Tombaugh, discoverer of Pluto and the solar system’s ‘third zone.’ Adelle and Muron’s boy, Patricia’s husband, Annette and Alden’s father, astronomer, teacher, punster, and friend: Clyde Tombaugh (1906-1997),” the message reads.
The memorial capsule carrying Clyde Tombaugh's remains is about 0.5 inches (1.3 centimeters) tall and 2 inches (5.1 centimeters) wide. It is attached to New Horizons' upper deck, on the inside of the probe.
Pluto is not the end of the journey for the New Horizons spacecraft
Admittedly, its upcoming Pluto flyby this July 14 will without a doubt be the highlight of New Horizons' space adventure. The flyby will not, however, mark the end of the probe's mission to explore our cosmic neighborhood.
Having flown past dwarf planet Pluto and its moons, New Horizons will go on to visit other objects in the Kuiper Belt. Eventually, the spacecraft, together with Clyde Tombaugh's ashes, will leave the Solar System and enter interstellar space.
