Launch date
2006-01-19
Destination
Pluto and the Kuiper Belt
Agencies
NASA
Objectives
- Map Pluto and Charon
- Explore a Kuiper Belt object
- Study the outer heliosphere
Spacecraft
478 kg; RTG-powered; launched at the highest Earth-departure speed of any spacecraft
Scientific instruments and systems
- LORRI
- Ralph
- Alice
- REX
- SWAP
- PEPSSI
- Student Dust Counter
Timeline
- 2006-01-19Launch on Atlas V
- 2007-02-28Jupiter gravity assist
- 2015-07-14Pluto flyby
- 2019-01-01Arrokoth flyby — most distant object ever explored up close
Major achievements
- First close-up images of Pluto and Charon
- Most distant flyby ever (Arrokoth)
Status reviewed 2026-10-23. For official images and the latest updates, visit the agency pages listed under Sources.