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Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest known trans-Neptunian object by volume, by a small margin, but is less massive than Eris.
Planetary discriminants for Ceres, Pluto and Eris taken from Soter, 2006. Planetary discriminants of all other bodies calculated from the Kuiper belt mass estimate given by Lorenzo Iorio. [100] ^ Saturn satellite info taken from NASA Saturnian Satellite Fact Sheet. [101]
The geology of Pluto consists of the characteristics of the surface, crust, and interior of Pluto. Because of Pluto's distance from Earth, in-depth study from Earth is difficult. Many details about Pluto remained unknown until 14 July 2015, when New Horizons flew through the Pluto system and began transmitting data back to Earth. [1]
Fusion-Enabled Pluto Orbiter and Lander: NASA: N/A: Orbiter/Lander: A probe equipped with a Direct Fusion Drive (DFD) propulsion system that is planned to orbit and land on Pluto. [17] IHP-1: CNSA: May 2024: Flyby: Proposed probe in the Shensuo program (Chinese: 神梭). Planned to launch alongside IHP-2 and the proposed IHP-3, IHP-1 will ...
Investigators began taking Pluto images and background starfield images to assist mission navigators in the design of course-correcting engine maneuvers that would precisely modify the trajectory of New Horizons to aim the approach. [132] On February 12, 2015, NASA released new images of Pluto (taken from January 25 to 31) from the approaching ...
The cancellation of Pluto Kuiper Express angered some of the space-exploration scientific community, which led to groups, such as The Planetary Society, lobbying NASA for either a reboot of the Pluto Kuiper Express or a restart of a mission to Pluto. Internal divisions within NASA, including its Scientific Advisory Council, also voiced support ...
Pluto is the only trans-Neptunian object with a known atmosphere. [7] Its closest analog is the atmosphere of Triton, although in some aspects it resembles even the atmosphere of Mars. [8] [9] The atmosphere of Pluto has been studied since the 1980s by way of earth-based observation of occultations of stars by Pluto [10] [11] and spectroscopy. [12]
A map of Pluto showing the names officially approved by the IAU as of 3 February 2021. This is a list of named geological features on Pluto, identified by scientists working with data from the New Horizons spacecraft.