“新视野”号成功飞掠冥王星及其卫星系统

New Horizons spacecraft successful flew by Pluto and its moons

2006年1月19日,美国宇航局发射的"新视野"号,经过近10年约50亿千米的飞行成功飞掠了冥王星及其卫星系统,成为迄今距离这颗矮行星最近的人类探测器."新视野"号已传回的科学探测数据显示,冥王星具有由广袤的冰冻平原组成的心形区域,赤道附近有一座年轻的高达3500 m的冰冻山脉.冥王星表面分布着大量甲烷冰,不同区域差异明显.冥卫一卡戎展现年轻复杂多样的地貌:表面有两条巨大的峡谷、北半球有一座山峰位于凹陷当中以及少量撞击坑等.此外,"新视野"号首次获取了冥卫二尼克斯和冥卫三许德拉的表面特征等信息."新视野"号将继续深入遥远神秘的柯伊伯带,这将为我们揭开太阳系边缘的神秘面纱.

New Horizons is an interplanetary spacecraft that was launched on January 19, 2006, as part of NASA＇s New Frontiers Program. On July 14 2015, the spacecraft successful flew by Pluto and its moons after a roughly 10-year-long journey with approximately five billion kilometers, making it the nearest human spacecraft to this dwarf planet so far. The received scientific data from New Horizons show that, Pluto has a heart-shaped region consisting of vast frozen plains, and a range of youthful icy mountains as high as 3500 m above the surface of equator.The spectra reveal an abundance of methane ice with significant differences across the frozen surface of Pluto. Pluto＇s first moon Charon displays young and diverse landscape with two great canyons as well as a depression with a peak in the middle with few visible craters distributing around. In addition, New Horizons first obtained surface characteristics and other properties of Pluto＇s second moon Nix and third Hydra. It will venture deeper into the distant Kuiper Belt and help us uncover the mystery of the Solar system edge.