Harshita Sinha
The Kuiper Belt is a region beyond Neptune, filled with icy bodies, dwarf planets, and other objects. It marks the edge of our solar system, a mysterious and unexplored frontier.
Launched in 2006, NASA’s New Horizons mission aimed to explore Pluto and beyond. After its historic Pluto flyby in 2015, New Horizons continued its journey toward the Kuiper Belt.
Heat ghee in a pan.
In July 2015, New Horizons made its closest approach to Pluto, providing the first detailed images and data about this distant dwarf planet and its moons.
In January 2019, New Horizons made an unprecedented flyby of Arrokoth (previously known as 2014 MU69), a small object in the Kuiper Belt. This was the farthest planetary encounter in history.
New Horizons provided valuable data about the composition, temperature, and structure of Kuiper Belt objects. Its findings shed light on the early solar system.
The Kuiper Belt holds clues to the formation of our solar system, offering a glimpse into the early stages of planetary development and the materials that formed the outer planets.
New Horizons continues its journey through the Kuiper Belt, collecting valuable data that enhances our understanding of the solar system’s origins and its outermost regions.