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| NASA’s New Horizons Spacecraft Signals Successful Flyby of Ultima Thule, the Most Distant Object Ever Visited | NASA’s New Horizons Spacecraft Signals Successful Flyby of Ultima Thule, the Most Distant Object Ever Visited |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| LAUREL, Md. — Thirty-three minutes after midnight, scientists, engineers and well-wishers here at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory celebrated the moment that NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft made its closest approach to a small, icy world nicknamed Ultima Thule. | LAUREL, Md. — Thirty-three minutes after midnight, scientists, engineers and well-wishers here at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory celebrated the moment that NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft made its closest approach to a small, icy world nicknamed Ultima Thule. |
| Almost 10 hours later, the New Horizons team, based at the laboratory, finally received confirmation that the spacecraft had indeed done everything they had asked. In the days and months to come, the mission’s scientists expect to receive pictures of Ultima Thule and scientific data that could shed light on how the sun and planets formed during the solar system’s earliest days. | Almost 10 hours later, the New Horizons team, based at the laboratory, finally received confirmation that the spacecraft had indeed done everything they had asked. In the days and months to come, the mission’s scientists expect to receive pictures of Ultima Thule and scientific data that could shed light on how the sun and planets formed during the solar system’s earliest days. |
| During the flyby, the spacecraft was out of communication with Earth because it was busy making scientific observations. Only hours later did New Horizons turn its antenna toward home.Then, it sent a 15-minute update on its status, confirming it had survived the flyby. The message took six hours to travel the 4.1 billion miles at the speed of light to Earth. It did not contain any new pictures or readings from the flyby. | |
| At 10:31 a.m., the mission operations center at Johns Hopkins confirmed that a radio dish in Madrid, Spain, part of NASA’s Deep Space Network, had locked in to the signal from New Horizons. | |
| “We have a healthy spacecraft,” Alice Bowman, the mission operations manager, announced following a methodical check of the spacecraft’s systems. “We’ve just accomplished the most distant flyby. We are ready for Ultima Thule science transmission.” | “We have a healthy spacecraft,” Alice Bowman, the mission operations manager, announced following a methodical check of the spacecraft’s systems. “We’ve just accomplished the most distant flyby. We are ready for Ultima Thule science transmission.” |
| Clapping and cheering erupted in the room where the mood had been quiet and nervous a few minutes earlier. | Clapping and cheering erupted in the room where the mood had been quiet and nervous a few minutes earlier. |
| Additional details about the flyby were announced in a Tuesday morning news conference, including a new image of Ultima Thule with greater detail of its elongated shape. | Additional details about the flyby were announced in a Tuesday morning news conference, including a new image of Ultima Thule with greater detail of its elongated shape. |
| On Monday, the people working on the mission had expressed confidence that everything had gone as planned. “But I’d be kidding you if I didn’t tell you that we’re also on pins and needles to see out how this turns out,” S. Alan Stern, the mission’s principal investigator had said in a news conference. “We only get one shot at it.” | On Monday, the people working on the mission had expressed confidence that everything had gone as planned. “But I’d be kidding you if I didn’t tell you that we’re also on pins and needles to see out how this turns out,” S. Alan Stern, the mission’s principal investigator had said in a news conference. “We only get one shot at it.” |
| Tuesday morning, Dr. Stern expressed a more jubilant mood on Twitter. | Tuesday morning, Dr. Stern expressed a more jubilant mood on Twitter. |
| [Sign up to get reminders for space and astronomy events on your calendar.] | [Sign up to get reminders for space and astronomy events on your calendar.] |
| The night before, revelers at the lab, which manages the mission for NASA, celebrated both the start of 2019 and the flyby. They were treated to the debut of a recorded music video by Brian May, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen but also an astrophysicist collaborating with the mission’s science team. Dr. May’s new song, “New Horizons,” was written for the occasion at the request of Dr. Stern. | |
| New Horizons to exploreNew Horizons no one has ever seen before | New Horizons to exploreNew Horizons no one has ever seen before |
| Dr. May said he was initially reluctant when Dr. Stern asked. “I thought this is going to be hard, because I can’t think of anything that rhymes with Ultima Thule,” he said. | Dr. May said he was initially reluctant when Dr. Stern asked. “I thought this is going to be hard, because I can’t think of anything that rhymes with Ultima Thule,” he said. |
| For most of the rest of his time here, Dr. May is working with other scientists. “I’m not here as a celebrity,” he said. | For most of the rest of his time here, Dr. May is working with other scientists. “I’m not here as a celebrity,” he said. |
| There was plenty of work to be done. In many ways, this flyby was more difficult than the one for Pluto in 2015, which collected a wealth of fascinating pictures and data. Ultima Thule is about one-100th the diameter of Pluto and far dimmer. While Pluto has been studied for decades, Ultima Thule was discovered only four and a half years ago by the Hubble Space Telescope, and none of the telescopes on Earth have been able to clearly spot it. | There was plenty of work to be done. In many ways, this flyby was more difficult than the one for Pluto in 2015, which collected a wealth of fascinating pictures and data. Ultima Thule is about one-100th the diameter of Pluto and far dimmer. While Pluto has been studied for decades, Ultima Thule was discovered only four and a half years ago by the Hubble Space Telescope, and none of the telescopes on Earth have been able to clearly spot it. |
| If Ultima Thule was not where the scientists thought it was, the cameras and other instruments could have been pointing at empty space. At closest approach, New Horizons snapped a swath of almost 900 of the highest-resolution images to make sure that the object shows up in a few. | |
| For years, scientists performed laborious astronomical studies all around Earth, seeking additional clues about the shape and orbit of the object. The New Horizons spacecraft itself was first able to spot Ultima Thule beginning in August, although as no more than a speck of light until this weekend. As the spacecraft approached, scientists had expected to see a rhythmic brightening and dimming of Ultima Thule, which would reveal how fast it is spinning. Instead, the brightness seems to have remained steady the whole time. | For years, scientists performed laborious astronomical studies all around Earth, seeking additional clues about the shape and orbit of the object. The New Horizons spacecraft itself was first able to spot Ultima Thule beginning in August, although as no more than a speck of light until this weekend. As the spacecraft approached, scientists had expected to see a rhythmic brightening and dimming of Ultima Thule, which would reveal how fast it is spinning. Instead, the brightness seems to have remained steady the whole time. |
| “It’s really puzzling, because we know the shape is irregular,” Dr. Stern said. Over the next couple of days, preliminary looks at the data, including what the scientists hope will be striking images of Ultima Thule, will be beamed back to Earth. Twenty months will pass before scientists have the full set of measurements. And they will be eagerly awaiting every bit of that stream. | “It’s really puzzling, because we know the shape is irregular,” Dr. Stern said. Over the next couple of days, preliminary looks at the data, including what the scientists hope will be striking images of Ultima Thule, will be beamed back to Earth. Twenty months will pass before scientists have the full set of measurements. And they will be eagerly awaiting every bit of that stream. |
| “We are ready to science the heck out of Ultima Thule,” Dr. Stern said. | “We are ready to science the heck out of Ultima Thule,” Dr. Stern said. |