For more than nine years New Horizons spacecraft traverses expanses of our solar system with a single task – is to explore Pluto. Exactly July 14, after defeating four billion kilometers, reaches its destination. On the same day the National Geographic Channel will present the documentary “Mission Platoon,” which remind the history of this incredible project and the people behind them.
Together with the show’s host Jason Silva and NASA scientists will accompany her on the trip. After almost 10 years spent in space probe New Horizons (Engl. New Horizons) will have only 86 seconds to complete his mission – to examine the dwarf planet Pluto.
The fact that the probe reaches and photographed so distant space object is a confirmation of artistry technology developed by man. The 2006 year, when he debuted Twitter New Horizons spacecraft left the Earth at a speed of 58 536 km / h.
A year later, the 2007 year, when Steve Jobs presented to the world the first iPhone, the probe passed Jupiter on the occasion of using its gravitational field to accelerate the flight and taking amazing photos of the volcanic eruption in space.
2008 year, when the crisis erupted on earth with a bang economic and broke markets, it in complete silence of the cosmos was heading towards your goal, defeating a day more than one million kilometers .
Already, the transmitter sends more and better pictures from a distance of about 20 million kilometers from Pluto. However, the climax will take place exactly 14 July, when it reaches the place of “close” passing a dwarf planet. The flight will last less than two hours. During this time, the probe will have to take pictures, scan the surface, analyze the atmosphere and examine Pluto’s geological layer. So precisely defined tasks make even the smallest mistake can have catastrophic consequences for the success of the mission.
The program “Mission Platoon” about the risk and emotions tell those who know most about the project. NASA scientists – the Head of Mission Dr. Alan Stern, the head – it’s the people who built, they sent Komos and “accompany” the probe New Horizons 24 hours a day for the last 9 years.
The signal from the probe traveling at the speed of light needs up to 4 and a half hours to reach Earth. Therefore, when the probe will pursue its most important goals, the entire NASA team can only wait with clenched thumbs, believing that the project who have devoted such a large part of your life will be a success.
Thanks to their determination, we will all be able to see the first images of Pluto. Photos, which he was not able to do even the legendary Hubble Space Telescope. Photos that successfully can be called one of the most expensive in history, because to make them perform it took 700 million registered dollars. So much it cost to send New Horizons spacecraft to the edge of the solar system.
Pluto is for us still unexplored desert – a true untouched mine of information that can give answers to many questions posed today by science. That object in our solar system, about which we know the least, and which could hold the key to unraveling the mystery of the creation of the solar system … and ourselves.
For this and many other reasons worth looking at on a warm July evening in the stars and see the documentary “Mission Platoon” on Tuesday, July 14, in the chair. 21:00 National Geographic Channel.
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