1 00:00:15,719 --> 00:00:20,090 From the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, welcome to NASA's New 2 00:00:20,090 --> 00:00:22,410 Horizons Countdown to Pluto. 3 00:00:22,410 --> 00:00:26,460 I'm Mike Buckley from APL Communications and Public Affairs with the update from Pluto's 4 00:00:26,460 --> 00:00:31,250 doorstep as we count down to New Horizons historic flyby of the Pluto system on July 5 00:00:31,250 --> 00:00:32,410 14th. 6 00:00:32,410 --> 00:00:38,330 We're 21 days away from the Pluto flyby, just under 16 million miles from Pluto, and activity 7 00:00:38,330 --> 00:00:40,530 across the team is picking up. 8 00:00:40,530 --> 00:00:45,180 Let's get the latest on that activity with an operations update. 9 00:00:45,180 --> 00:00:56,080 Now, with us is Gabe Rogers, the New Horizons spacecraft systems engineer and guidance and 10 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:57,100 control lead. 11 00:00:57,100 --> 00:00:58,380 Gabe, thanks for joining us. 12 00:00:58,380 --> 00:00:59,380 Thanks for having me, Mike. 13 00:00:59,380 --> 00:01:03,290 Now, you work on the guidance and control system, which, you know, the name implies 14 00:01:03,290 --> 00:01:06,049 that this would be a critical system on anything that flies. 15 00:01:06,049 --> 00:01:10,330 But, tell us a little bit how important it is for a spacecraft that's flying so far from 16 00:01:10,330 --> 00:01:12,020 home and has so much to do. 17 00:01:12,020 --> 00:01:14,200 Well, guidance control is very important. 18 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:19,990 If we are not pointed accurately, then we won't be able to collect the science and images. 19 00:01:19,990 --> 00:01:23,540 We won't be able to conduct the trajectory correction maneuvers. 20 00:01:23,540 --> 00:01:27,360 And we wouldn't be able to point back to the Earth to downlink the telemetry. 21 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:33,070 So, we have very fine pointing requirements on New Horizons and it all has to be pre-programmed 22 00:01:33,070 --> 00:01:35,110 so that we get the best images for the scientists. 23 00:01:35,110 --> 00:01:38,590 Yeah, pre-programmed because, I mean, New Horizons is counted on to do a lot of it on 24 00:01:38,590 --> 00:01:40,380 its own because it's flying so far. 25 00:01:40,380 --> 00:01:45,040 We get the commands up and rely on the spacecraft to do what we tell it to do. 26 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:46,040 Absolutely. 27 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:49,780 We design all of these things and upload two week sequences way in advance and then it's 28 00:01:49,780 --> 00:01:54,659 up to the spacecraft to basically know where it is in order to point to the planet correctly 29 00:01:54,659 --> 00:01:56,000 and take the best images. 30 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:58,240 Now, you mentioned trajectory corrections. 31 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:04,270 On June 14th, right, the team marked out the P minus 30 days mark by conducting a TCM. 32 00:02:04,270 --> 00:02:05,270 Yes. 33 00:02:05,270 --> 00:02:06,270 As we call them. 34 00:02:06,270 --> 00:02:07,760 So, tell us why those--they're so important. 35 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:13,659 Well, we need to be arriving at Pluto at the right time and at the right location in order 36 00:02:13,659 --> 00:02:18,150 to maintain the geometry that we designed for all of the science observations. 37 00:02:18,150 --> 00:02:22,260 It's also very important to get there at the proper time in order to conduct the Pluto 38 00:02:22,260 --> 00:02:27,920 and Charon occultations where we actually fly behind the planet and the sun then sort 39 00:02:27,920 --> 00:02:32,190 of goes out and the scientists are able to collect observations that'll tell them the 40 00:02:32,190 --> 00:02:33,620 composition of the atmosphere. 41 00:02:33,620 --> 00:02:38,700 If you don't get there at the proper time, you're not going to be able to do those observations. 42 00:02:38,700 --> 00:02:44,400 And so, we very subtly have to adjust the trajectory of the spacecraft in order to make 43 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:46,860 sure we get there at just the right time. 44 00:02:46,860 --> 00:02:47,860 Okay. 45 00:02:47,860 --> 00:02:49,510 What did this latest one do specifically? 46 00:02:49,510 --> 00:02:51,840 Well, the--we were coming in a little bit early. 47 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:57,950 So, this last one slowed us down by about 80 seconds and it changed the arrival point 48 00:02:57,950 --> 00:02:59,850 by a few hundred kilometers. 49 00:02:59,850 --> 00:03:04,560 We have pretty tight requirements and 100 kilometer by 150 kilometer box and we were 50 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:06,380 outside that box. 51 00:03:06,380 --> 00:03:08,709 Following this maneuver, we're back inside that box. 52 00:03:08,709 --> 00:03:09,709 Okay. 53 00:03:09,709 --> 00:03:14,280 Well, why don't we take a look at the activity inside mission operations on June 14th? 54 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:16,840 I've got this number right here. 55 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:18,959 [Unintelligible] as you get another--. 56 00:03:18,959 --> 00:03:30,120 --That's the, I would assume, from the expected--. 57 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:36,740 [--Unintelligible] to reform the status, please do so. 58 00:03:36,740 --> 00:03:38,510 No, no. 59 00:03:38,510 --> 00:03:39,510 [Unintelligible]. 60 00:03:39,510 --> 00:03:42,030 This is [unintelligible]. 61 00:03:42,030 --> 00:03:43,800 Yes Yes. 62 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:44,800 The [unintelligible]. 63 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:45,800 Copy that. 64 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:46,800 Sandy H, [unintelligible] Pluto one. 65 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:50,180 Mach to Sandy H, Pluto One, status is green. 66 00:03:50,180 --> 00:03:51,690 Navigation [unintelligible] Pluto One. 67 00:03:51,690 --> 00:03:52,810 Navigation is green. 68 00:03:52,810 --> 00:03:56,570 Doppler is [unintelligible] consistent with free pass last night [unintelligible]. 69 00:03:56,570 --> 00:03:57,570 Copy that. 70 00:03:57,570 --> 00:03:58,570 Thank you. 71 00:03:58,570 --> 00:03:59,950 Pop, Mama and Pluto One. 72 00:03:59,950 --> 00:04:01,080 [Unintelligible] is green. 73 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:02,080 Autonomy. 74 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:03,080 Autonomy is green. 75 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:04,080 [Unintelligible] is disabled. 76 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:05,590 [Unintelligible] Mama and Pluto One. 77 00:04:05,590 --> 00:04:08,220 Mama, this is [unintelligible] and Pluto One. 78 00:04:08,220 --> 00:04:09,720 All systems are [unintelligible]. 79 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:14,930 So, this morning's course correction was to make sure that we hit that aim point of 7,800 80 00:04:14,930 --> 00:04:15,930 miles. 81 00:04:15,930 --> 00:04:24,940 And so, this was--if you do the course correction early, we can use less propellant than if 82 00:04:24,940 --> 00:04:29,060 we wait and do it a little bit later. 83 00:04:29,060 --> 00:04:30,449 [Unintelligible] went perfect. 84 00:04:30,449 --> 00:04:35,530 Yeah, we're ecstatic because we needed this burn to get right back down on the center 85 00:04:35,530 --> 00:04:41,190 line so that we can do a hole in one at Pluto and it worked perfectly. 86 00:04:41,190 --> 00:04:45,640 We have three more opportunities to do another burn to try and tweak up the orbit. 87 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:51,199 We're hoping we don't have to do any, but there's a high likelihood that we will have 88 00:04:51,199 --> 00:04:55,050 to do at least one more. 89 00:04:55,050 --> 00:04:59,190 So, what activity is next for spacecraft operations and for the team? 90 00:04:59,190 --> 00:05:03,551 So, the next few weeks, we are still collecting optical navigation images to verify that we 91 00:05:03,551 --> 00:05:05,520 are on the correct path to Pluto. 92 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:10,650 We're also collecting increasing science observations and we're starting to execute the Phase A 93 00:05:10,650 --> 00:05:11,650 loads. 94 00:05:11,650 --> 00:05:14,750 Those are the loads that we developed years ago and put on a shelf, essentially. 95 00:05:14,750 --> 00:05:17,660 And now, we're, for the first time, actually executing them on the spacecraft. 96 00:05:17,660 --> 00:05:18,930 So, it's an exciting time. 97 00:05:18,930 --> 00:05:19,930 All those years, right? 98 00:05:19,930 --> 00:05:21,040 And the planning to get those on. 99 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:22,590 Now, you're seeing them work--. 100 00:05:22,590 --> 00:05:23,590 Yes--. 101 00:05:23,590 --> 00:05:24,590 On the spacecraft, too. 102 00:05:24,590 --> 00:05:26,490 Speaking of the spacecraft, everything healthy? 103 00:05:26,490 --> 00:05:28,060 Everything looks good on board? 104 00:05:28,060 --> 00:05:29,060 Everything's healthy. 105 00:05:29,060 --> 00:05:32,430 All the hardware right now is operating nominally and the spacecraft is performing the sequences 106 00:05:32,430 --> 00:05:33,490 that we gave it. 107 00:05:33,490 --> 00:05:37,280 So, the images look wonderful and we're excited to see what's next. 108 00:05:37,280 --> 00:05:38,280 All right. 109 00:05:38,280 --> 00:05:39,280 Well, thanks, Gabe. 110 00:05:39,280 --> 00:05:40,280 Thanks, Mike. 111 00:05:40,280 --> 00:05:48,830 And now, for a science update. 112 00:05:48,830 --> 00:05:52,480 Project Scientist Hal Weaver is here to fill us in on New Horizons science. 113 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:53,610 Hal, thanks for joining us. 114 00:05:53,610 --> 00:05:54,610 Hi, Mike. 115 00:05:54,610 --> 00:05:55,750 Glad to be back. 116 00:05:55,750 --> 00:06:00,850 The--one of the bigger announcements over the past week was another all clear for New 117 00:06:00,850 --> 00:06:02,730 Horizons and the hazard search. 118 00:06:02,730 --> 00:06:03,730 Can you fill us in on that? 119 00:06:03,730 --> 00:06:04,730 Yeah. 120 00:06:04,730 --> 00:06:07,610 That's one of the most important things we're doing right now during the approach to Pluto. 121 00:06:07,610 --> 00:06:13,720 In fact, this is by far the deepest we've looked for new satellites and potential dust 122 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:17,699 in the system that could--you know, that would, you know, could potentially pose a hazard 123 00:06:17,699 --> 00:06:19,290 to the spacecraft. 124 00:06:19,290 --> 00:06:23,480 And so, we took 384 images, each of them 10 seconds long. 125 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:29,199 So, over an hour straight staring at the Pluto system trying to pick out new satellites and 126 00:06:29,199 --> 00:06:30,699 little dust particles. 127 00:06:30,699 --> 00:06:35,509 And again, so, saw the--saw Pluto, Charon, the four other moons--. 128 00:06:35,509 --> 00:06:36,509 Yes--. 129 00:06:36,509 --> 00:06:37,720 But, still nothing smaller inside that. 130 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:38,720 Yeah. 131 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:42,210 The thing that was so hard for Hubble to see, the Styx--the smallest satellite is now a 132 00:06:42,210 --> 00:06:44,669 piece of cake for LORRI on New Horizons. 133 00:06:44,669 --> 00:06:46,300 So, we easily see that. 134 00:06:46,300 --> 00:06:49,030 We go well below the brightness of Styx. 135 00:06:49,030 --> 00:06:54,139 We're not--still not seeing anything, which is great, you know, from the perspective of 136 00:06:54,139 --> 00:06:55,990 danger to the spacecraft. 137 00:06:55,990 --> 00:06:59,820 With the LORRI camera, the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager, the tool that we're looking to look 138 00:06:59,820 --> 00:07:04,350 into the system at this point, it seems that the views of the Pluto system now, especially 139 00:07:04,350 --> 00:07:07,930 from that camera, are quickly getting better and better. 140 00:07:07,930 --> 00:07:10,430 Tell us about the improvement that we've seen over even the past week. 141 00:07:10,430 --> 00:07:11,430 Oh, yeah. 142 00:07:11,430 --> 00:07:13,569 It's--like you say, it's getting better and better. 143 00:07:13,569 --> 00:07:19,940 Just the cool thing is we're 20 days out, Pluto is now 20 pixels across in LORRI. 144 00:07:19,940 --> 00:07:21,110 You know, it's dramatically improved. 145 00:07:21,110 --> 00:07:23,940 We're starting to see more and more surface features on the planet. 146 00:07:23,940 --> 00:07:29,620 And, you know, another 10 days and it'll be another twice as big as that. 147 00:07:29,620 --> 00:07:34,220 And then, you know, roughly three days out, it gets to be 100 pixels across and then 1,000 148 00:07:34,220 --> 00:07:35,220 pixels across. 149 00:07:35,220 --> 00:07:36,220 Yeah. 150 00:07:36,220 --> 00:07:37,220 And it's going to come quickly. 151 00:07:37,220 --> 00:07:38,220 I mean--. 152 00:07:38,220 --> 00:07:39,220 Oh, yeah--. 153 00:07:39,220 --> 00:07:40,220 We're going to see it bigger and bigger and bigger as we go and then it's passed. 154 00:07:40,220 --> 00:07:41,220 That's right. 155 00:07:41,220 --> 00:07:42,220 Exactly. 156 00:07:42,220 --> 00:07:44,210 We just ramp up the coverage, you know, take more and more images. 157 00:07:44,210 --> 00:07:49,800 We want to get as detailed a view of Pluto's surface and Charon's surface and best looks 158 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:52,370 possible for all of the other moons in the system. 159 00:07:52,370 --> 00:07:56,340 And, you know, we're going to cram as much as we can. 160 00:07:56,340 --> 00:08:00,940 Point out to the people are able to check the pictures that LORRI is taking on the New 161 00:08:00,940 --> 00:08:01,940 Horizons website. 162 00:08:01,940 --> 00:08:07,090 I mean, there's the raw image page where within 48 hours of those pictures being received 163 00:08:07,090 --> 00:08:09,710 on the ground, they're up on the website for people to check out. 164 00:08:09,710 --> 00:08:10,710 Oh, yeah. 165 00:08:10,710 --> 00:08:13,250 We think it's very important to share with the public. 166 00:08:13,250 --> 00:08:14,840 Let them share in the excitement of Pluto. 167 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:18,660 They can watch it themselves getting bigger and bigger and more--you know, you can see 168 00:08:18,660 --> 00:08:22,610 more and more surface features by looking--going to the LORRI website. 169 00:08:22,610 --> 00:08:26,490 We actually tried to get it up even within 48 hours as--you know, when it lands on the 170 00:08:26,490 --> 00:08:27,490 ground. 171 00:08:27,490 --> 00:08:31,789 So, a lot of people seem to be having fun with those images and we're happy to have 172 00:08:31,789 --> 00:08:32,789 them share. 173 00:08:32,789 --> 00:08:33,789 Okay. 174 00:08:33,789 --> 00:08:37,360 So, what--what's coming up then over the week or so for the science team and science observations? 175 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:41,810 Yeah, just ramping up the coverage, more and more observations, getting better and better 176 00:08:41,810 --> 00:08:43,080 resolution. 177 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:49,269 We have a couple of--you know, more very important deep searches with LORRI, you know, trying 178 00:08:49,269 --> 00:08:54,309 to even go even farther to look for satellites--new satellites and dust just to make sure the 179 00:08:54,309 --> 00:08:55,309 coast is clear. 180 00:08:55,309 --> 00:08:57,119 And so far, everything is looking great. 181 00:08:57,119 --> 00:08:58,119 Thanks, Hal. 182 00:08:58,119 --> 00:09:02,139 And we've heard from lots of people who can't wait to see Pluto up close. 183 00:09:02,139 --> 00:09:05,800 You can only imagine the excitement among the mission scientists and engineers who've 184 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:08,980 invested so much time and energy to reach this distant world. 185 00:09:08,980 --> 00:09:11,389 But, why do they love Pluto? 186 00:09:11,389 --> 00:09:21,730 Let's meet a real Plutophile. 187 00:09:21,730 --> 00:09:31,990 I'm Bill McKinnon. 188 00:09:31,990 --> 00:09:36,670 I work at Washington University in St. Louis and I'm interested in pretty much everything 189 00:09:36,670 --> 00:09:43,529 about Pluto, but really its geology and geophysics and especially its origin and where it came 190 00:09:43,529 --> 00:09:44,699 from and how it evolved. 191 00:09:44,699 --> 00:09:49,079 When I began to work on Pluto, literally the number of people who were thinking about Pluto 192 00:09:49,079 --> 00:09:50,970 you could count on the finger--you know, fingers of your hands. 193 00:09:50,970 --> 00:09:59,139 And it was--sort of a fun little hobby, okay, to be sort of a Plutophile in those days. 194 00:09:59,139 --> 00:10:07,199 We have a fantastic new vision of the solar system that it went through a violent phase 195 00:10:07,199 --> 00:10:13,690 of instability and the giant planets were much more closer together in the beginning 196 00:10:13,690 --> 00:10:16,990 and then they spread out and they scattered small bodies everywhere, but especially bodies 197 00:10:16,990 --> 00:10:18,429 into what we call the Kuiper Belt. 198 00:10:18,429 --> 00:10:23,910 And Pluto is, at the moment, still the king of the Kuiper Belt in terms of linear dimension, 199 00:10:23,910 --> 00:10:25,379 the largest body there. 200 00:10:25,379 --> 00:10:30,679 But, even though without there at nearly 40 astronomical units and travels in a big archival 201 00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:35,799 [sp] orbit farther and closer to the sun over hundreds of years, it actually was born much 202 00:10:35,799 --> 00:10:37,459 closer to the sun. 203 00:10:37,459 --> 00:10:41,410 If Pluto formed close to the sun, that means it probably formed pretty fast. 204 00:10:41,410 --> 00:10:44,259 And when you form fast, you get hot. 205 00:10:44,259 --> 00:10:48,319 And therefore, it melted its ice and the rock settled into the center and now you have great 206 00:10:48,319 --> 00:10:49,319 setup. 207 00:10:49,319 --> 00:10:55,260 You have basically a rock core, an ice shell over that, and then in-between--sandwiched 208 00:10:55,260 --> 00:11:00,800 in-between would be an ocean of liquid water with all sorts of interesting dissolved chemicals. 209 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:04,949 And the best way we can tell that is probably to just study the geology and the composition 210 00:11:04,949 --> 00:11:08,350 of the surface in detail, which is exactly what we're going to do. 211 00:11:08,350 --> 00:11:12,920 And we--if it's pretty round, we'll be much more comfortable with it being an active body 212 00:11:12,920 --> 00:11:16,950 and maybe even having an ocean today, which would be very exciting. 213 00:11:16,950 --> 00:11:18,699 I think we will see craters. 214 00:11:18,699 --> 00:11:23,389 I think we will see the remnants of icy volcanic structures. 215 00:11:23,389 --> 00:11:26,839 And I know that sounds bizarre and some--we even call it--have a bizarre name for it. 216 00:11:26,839 --> 00:11:28,519 We call it cryovolcanism, cold volcanism. 217 00:11:28,519 --> 00:11:33,769 We're talking about it erupted ammonia or it erupted methane and even erupted liquid 218 00:11:33,769 --> 00:11:34,769 nitrogen. 219 00:11:34,769 --> 00:11:38,410 These are the kinds of things that could go on on the surface of Pluto. 220 00:11:38,410 --> 00:11:43,079 Anybody who thinks that when we go to Pluto, we're going to find cold dead ice balls is 221 00:11:43,079 --> 00:11:45,199 in for a rude shock. 222 00:11:45,199 --> 00:11:49,299 But, I'm really hoping to see a very active and dynamic world. 223 00:11:49,299 --> 00:11:56,079 I'm Bill McKinnon and I'm a Plutophile because Pluto is the last unexplored outpost of the 224 00:11:56,079 --> 00:11:57,199 solar system. 225 00:11:57,199 --> 00:11:58,420 The furthest, the farthest, the least known. 226 00:11:58,420 --> 00:12:06,881 Now, the mission has a great tool to supposedly get all that science data and that's the New 227 00:12:06,881 --> 00:12:07,881 Horizons spacecraft. 228 00:12:07,881 --> 00:12:12,490 But, you have to get it to the right place at the right time and tell it what to do. 229 00:12:12,490 --> 00:12:16,829 So, we brought mission encounter manager Mark Holdridge back to help explain how that happens. 230 00:12:16,829 --> 00:12:18,199 So, Mark, thanks for coming back. 231 00:12:18,199 --> 00:12:19,199 You're welcome. 232 00:12:19,199 --> 00:12:23,259 I guess first, let's start with even just the overall goals of the New Horizons mission 233 00:12:23,259 --> 00:12:28,779 and what science it wants to achieve in the Pluto system and you get one shot at this. 234 00:12:28,779 --> 00:12:29,779 What are we looking for? 235 00:12:29,779 --> 00:12:33,230 Well, the scientists have dozens and dozens of observations they want to take of the Pluto 236 00:12:33,230 --> 00:12:34,230 system. 237 00:12:34,230 --> 00:12:36,380 Pluto, Charon, and the other moons of Pluto. 238 00:12:36,380 --> 00:12:40,949 And they prioritize those in level one, level two, and level three requirements so that 239 00:12:40,949 --> 00:12:46,009 we can perform various trades on which ones we can do or others that maybe we can't. 240 00:12:46,009 --> 00:12:51,249 And then we expect that the bulk of the requirements will be satisfied during closest approach. 241 00:12:51,249 --> 00:12:55,869 The level one requirements, they require really the highest resolution observations. 242 00:12:55,869 --> 00:12:56,869 And there's a whole list. 243 00:12:56,869 --> 00:13:00,069 I mean, their ideas of just not getting some, but there's a long list of things the team 244 00:13:00,069 --> 00:13:01,069 wants to get. 245 00:13:01,069 --> 00:13:02,069 Right. 246 00:13:02,069 --> 00:13:03,069 Hundreds and hundreds of observations. 247 00:13:03,069 --> 00:13:04,069 Okay. 248 00:13:04,069 --> 00:13:09,209 With those observations, then, tell us how you design, then, a flyby that gets all that 249 00:13:09,209 --> 00:13:10,209 information. 250 00:13:10,209 --> 00:13:11,470 How do you work that with the spacecraft? 251 00:13:11,470 --> 00:13:14,209 So, we really have, like, two competing activities. 252 00:13:14,209 --> 00:13:19,359 One is delivering the spacecraft to the target in the prescribed box, the window that we're 253 00:13:19,359 --> 00:13:23,360 trying to hit, the 90 by 60 mile box within the prescribed time. 254 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:25,670 So, that's really a navigation challenge. 255 00:13:25,670 --> 00:13:28,089 And then we have the science observations themselves. 256 00:13:28,089 --> 00:13:33,910 So, we have to stitch a timeline together that accommodates both of those types of requirements 257 00:13:33,910 --> 00:13:37,860 so that we can both deliver the spacecraft and perform the various observations that 258 00:13:37,860 --> 00:13:38,860 we're looking to do. 259 00:13:38,860 --> 00:13:43,869 And you have to design sequences then that are loaded onto the spacecraft well ahead 260 00:13:43,869 --> 00:13:44,869 of time, right? 261 00:13:44,869 --> 00:13:47,800 That actually--and they're timed to execute and do different things. 262 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:48,800 Right. 263 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:53,489 So, we actually have developed the sequence for the seven days leading up to closest approach. 264 00:13:53,489 --> 00:13:58,029 We started that years ago and have performed a number of different iterations with it and 265 00:13:58,029 --> 00:13:59,980 tested and tested the heck out of it. 266 00:13:59,980 --> 00:14:04,579 But, that's actually loaded up about nine days out from closest approach. 267 00:14:04,579 --> 00:14:07,499 And starting at seven days out, that sequence starts. 268 00:14:07,499 --> 00:14:11,309 And the spacecraft is pretty much running on autopilot for the most part. 269 00:14:11,309 --> 00:14:17,670 It's executing these commands at very rigid absolute times as we've built into the command 270 00:14:17,670 --> 00:14:18,670 sequences. 271 00:14:18,670 --> 00:14:20,529 Now, how intricate a dance are those command sequences? 272 00:14:20,529 --> 00:14:24,519 What does the spacecraft have to do or how do you have to make sure it moves between 273 00:14:24,519 --> 00:14:27,230 so many sequences without skipping a beat? 274 00:14:27,230 --> 00:14:28,230 Right. 275 00:14:28,230 --> 00:14:31,429 So, as you can see from the picture behind me, the spacecraft rigid. 276 00:14:31,429 --> 00:14:35,410 So, everything has to be pointed one thing at a time. 277 00:14:35,410 --> 00:14:39,809 So, if we're doing a science observation, we can do pointing for one observation, then 278 00:14:39,809 --> 00:14:44,690 we slew the spacecraft a little bit and point to the next object that we want to look at. 279 00:14:44,690 --> 00:14:48,249 And then we'll point back to Earth, for instance, to play data back or send additional commands 280 00:14:48,249 --> 00:14:49,249 up. 281 00:14:49,249 --> 00:14:54,040 So, it's really a time choreographing of the pointing of the spacecraft that's required 282 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:55,819 to carry all this out. 283 00:14:55,819 --> 00:14:58,190 And also, too, I mean, even--these are all happening within seconds. 284 00:14:58,190 --> 00:15:00,709 I mean, it's going from observation from observation. 285 00:15:00,709 --> 00:15:01,709 Right. 286 00:15:01,709 --> 00:15:05,860 We have a very dense set of observations because we want to make the best use of the time during 287 00:15:05,860 --> 00:15:07,110 the closest approach. 288 00:15:07,110 --> 00:15:11,299 During that day, plus and minus a day or so from closest approach to get the very best 289 00:15:11,299 --> 00:15:12,759 data that we can. 290 00:15:12,759 --> 00:15:18,109 And so, the spacecraft, at that point, pretty much is Pluto pointing, as you might expect. 291 00:15:18,109 --> 00:15:22,299 We're not doing a whole lot of communications with the spacecraft directly other than the 292 00:15:22,299 --> 00:15:25,609 occultations that we have when we fly by the shadows of Pluto. 293 00:15:25,609 --> 00:15:28,149 So, it's not just as simple as pointing. 294 00:15:28,149 --> 00:15:32,970 There's a whole element of timing and precision to make sure that you get the observations 295 00:15:32,970 --> 00:15:34,910 that are programmed and they're in the right place. 296 00:15:34,910 --> 00:15:38,660 So, let's take a look at how that works. 297 00:15:38,660 --> 00:15:43,220 After a journey of over 3 billion miles and nine years in flight, NASA's New Horizons 298 00:15:43,220 --> 00:15:48,239 spacecraft flies by Pluto and its moons on July 14, 2015. 299 00:15:48,239 --> 00:15:51,739 I'm Mark Holdridge, New Horizons encounter mission manager. 300 00:15:51,739 --> 00:15:56,680 Doing successful science at Pluto depends on pinpoint accuracy and targeting New Horizons 301 00:15:56,680 --> 00:15:57,680 cameras. 302 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:02,889 While traveling at a speed of 36,000 miles per hour, 14 kilometers a second, one of our 303 00:16:02,889 --> 00:16:08,389 challenges is that Pluto was only discovered in 1930 and its journey around the sun is 304 00:16:08,389 --> 00:16:09,910 248 years. 305 00:16:09,910 --> 00:16:13,889 So, we've only been following it for about one-third of its orbit. 306 00:16:13,889 --> 00:16:15,809 It's hard to know its precise position. 307 00:16:15,809 --> 00:16:20,720 So, we're actually using the New Horizons long range camera, LORRI, to more accurately 308 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:23,470 refine where Pluto is. 309 00:16:23,470 --> 00:16:29,379 Starting on January 25th, we're taking pictures using LORRI, New Horizons longest range imager, 310 00:16:29,379 --> 00:16:32,639 which we use both for navigation and for science. 311 00:16:32,639 --> 00:16:36,699 Of course, we'll get more and more precise results as we get closer to Pluto, getting 312 00:16:36,699 --> 00:16:41,720 ready for a truly close approach and flyby on July 14, 2015. 313 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:45,609 That's when we really need precise pointing, when we're whizzing by the planet and its 314 00:16:45,609 --> 00:16:46,609 moons. 315 00:16:46,609 --> 00:16:51,639 So, here I am like a tourist visiting Washington, D.C., driving down the mall and trying to 316 00:16:51,639 --> 00:16:54,480 take a clear shot of the Washington Monument. 317 00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:58,540 Of course, to get the clearest picture, I have to move the camera taking into account 318 00:16:58,540 --> 00:17:03,109 the speed of the car I'm riding in and knowing exactly when to click the shutter. 319 00:17:03,109 --> 00:17:06,680 And for a large object like the Washington Monument, I have to take several images to 320 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:15,510 get the whole monument in the field of view. 321 00:17:15,510 --> 00:17:20,159 That's just what we'll be doing with our long range camera which has a narrow field of view, 322 00:17:20,159 --> 00:17:24,449 taking lots of individual shots and make up a mosaic or composite image. 323 00:17:24,449 --> 00:17:27,819 So, for New Horizons, it's much more complicated than being a tourist. 324 00:17:27,819 --> 00:17:29,750 And since I'm not driving, why don't we try a little thought experiment? 325 00:17:29,750 --> 00:17:41,929 I'm going to put on a blindfold and then try to take a picture of the monument. 326 00:17:41,929 --> 00:17:45,460 At Pluto, New Horizons is more than four and a half light hours from Earth. 327 00:17:45,460 --> 00:17:49,799 So, there's no way mission control can do any kind of real time adjustment. 328 00:17:49,799 --> 00:17:52,269 All our commands have been sent up in advance. 329 00:17:52,269 --> 00:17:54,259 All our instruments are completely pre-sequenced. 330 00:17:54,259 --> 00:17:59,519 We've been at this for many years, planning and refining and re-planning. 331 00:17:59,519 --> 00:18:04,330 Our encounter sequence has some 25,000 lines of code and we don't want to make any last 332 00:18:04,330 --> 00:18:06,559 minute changes that might create problems. 333 00:18:06,559 --> 00:18:12,610 But, what we can do is change the time when we start the sequence based on updated navigation 334 00:18:12,610 --> 00:18:14,750 data as we get close. 335 00:18:14,750 --> 00:18:20,550 But, in order to know where and when to start taking pictures, we have to know Pluto's exact 336 00:18:20,550 --> 00:18:21,550 location. 337 00:18:21,550 --> 00:18:27,700 And this is where LORRI is once again our spyglass or optical navigation tool. 338 00:18:27,700 --> 00:18:33,730 So, we do have to figure out exactly how far we are from Pluto and we do that using the 339 00:18:33,730 --> 00:18:34,900 parallax effect. 340 00:18:34,900 --> 00:18:35,900 Sound complicated? 341 00:18:35,900 --> 00:18:41,330 Well, it is rocket science, but let's see how it works. 342 00:18:41,330 --> 00:18:42,700 See that traffic light? 343 00:18:42,700 --> 00:18:47,840 As we get closer, it seems to rise higher in the sky relative to the background objects. 344 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:52,590 Simple geometry permits us to estimate our absolute distance to the object by measuring 345 00:18:52,590 --> 00:18:54,340 how much the background has shifted. 346 00:18:54,340 --> 00:19:00,279 For Pluto, as we approach, we use LORRI to see how fast it's appearing to change position 347 00:19:00,279 --> 00:19:02,210 against the fixed background stars. 348 00:19:02,210 --> 00:19:05,620 It's only going to be in the final days we're going to get the best shots of Pluto and the 349 00:19:05,620 --> 00:19:07,460 vital navigation data needed. 350 00:19:07,460 --> 00:19:08,539 It's going to be awesome. 351 00:19:08,539 --> 00:19:12,980 But, combining rocket science and lots of practice, we have a very good shot at getting 352 00:19:12,980 --> 00:19:15,600 some great shots of Pluto and its moons. 353 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:17,049 Stay tuned and follow us online. 354 00:19:17,049 --> 00:19:21,370 You look a little warmer now than when you originally shot that piece. 355 00:19:21,370 --> 00:19:22,370 So--. 356 00:19:22,370 --> 00:19:23,370 Yeah, yeah. 357 00:19:23,370 --> 00:19:26,799 That was a good explanation of exactly how we get some of that data and the challenges 358 00:19:26,799 --> 00:19:27,799 of that. 359 00:19:27,799 --> 00:19:30,649 But, it's not over after that because now, we have to get all that information back to 360 00:19:30,649 --> 00:19:31,649 Earth. 361 00:19:31,649 --> 00:19:32,649 Right. 362 00:19:32,649 --> 00:19:35,120 Take us through the timeline and then some of the challenge of sending that because it's 363 00:19:35,120 --> 00:19:36,919 not something that happens overnight; is it? 364 00:19:36,919 --> 00:19:37,919 Right. 365 00:19:37,919 --> 00:19:41,009 So, everybody's going to be very excited to see the data as it comes off the spacecraft 366 00:19:41,009 --> 00:19:42,389 as soon as possible. 367 00:19:42,389 --> 00:19:47,120 We'll initially be playing backup browse data set to get lower resolution data and a quick 368 00:19:47,120 --> 00:19:51,679 look at the imagery that we took and the other science data that we took during the flyby. 369 00:19:51,679 --> 00:19:55,870 But, the actual data rates are between one and two kilobits a second. 370 00:19:55,870 --> 00:19:57,350 So, they're fairly slow data rates. 371 00:19:57,350 --> 00:20:01,870 So, the data is going to come off at a very gradual rate over the course of roughly 16 372 00:20:01,870 --> 00:20:03,750 months before we get it all back. 373 00:20:03,750 --> 00:20:05,020 And it's different types that you're able to see. 374 00:20:05,020 --> 00:20:08,240 I mean, you're getting a first look by--about the end of the year. 375 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:14,100 And then after that, through 2016, the high resolution material, you get to see the--really 376 00:20:14,100 --> 00:20:16,240 get to see inside the [unintelligible]. 377 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:17,240 Right. 378 00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:21,139 So, initially, the data--the quick look data or the browse data is compressed. 379 00:20:21,139 --> 00:20:26,309 And then what we do is we play back the raw data, the uncompressed data, to get the true 380 00:20:26,309 --> 00:20:31,259 sort of un-doctored science data in its purest form and that takes a lot longer to play back. 381 00:20:31,259 --> 00:20:33,170 That's really why it takes 16 months. 382 00:20:33,170 --> 00:20:34,170 Yeah. 383 00:20:34,170 --> 00:20:35,170 And discoveries, too. 384 00:20:35,170 --> 00:20:36,480 I mean, we'll have discoveries later in 2015. 385 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:38,460 We'll have discoveries in 2016 throughout. 386 00:20:38,460 --> 00:20:39,460 So--. 387 00:20:39,460 --> 00:20:40,460 Right--. 388 00:20:40,460 --> 00:20:41,460 We have something to look forward. 389 00:20:41,460 --> 00:20:42,460 Right. 390 00:20:42,460 --> 00:20:43,700 So, it's kind of like during the approach phase where we're--data's gradually kind of 391 00:20:43,700 --> 00:20:45,960 trickling in as Pluto's getting bigger and bigger. 392 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:47,889 After the flyby, it'll be much the same way. 393 00:20:47,889 --> 00:20:52,159 The scientists will keep discovering new things for months and months afterwards. 394 00:20:52,159 --> 00:20:53,159 All right. 395 00:20:53,159 --> 00:20:54,890 Well, Mark, again, thanks for coming back to explain all this. 396 00:20:54,890 --> 00:20:55,890 My pleasure. 397 00:20:55,890 --> 00:20:58,410 Very exciting times ahead, Mike. 398 00:20:58,410 --> 00:21:01,260 NASA is exploring the solar system and behind. 399 00:21:01,260 --> 00:21:04,889 And with its 3 billion mile voyage, New Horizons is way out there. 400 00:21:04,889 --> 00:21:07,330 But, just how far is that? 401 00:21:07,330 --> 00:21:11,350 Let's watch as NASA planetary science division director, Jim Green, takes us on the path 402 00:21:11,350 --> 00:21:13,500 to Pluto. 403 00:21:13,500 --> 00:21:14,580 Hi. 404 00:21:14,580 --> 00:21:17,820 I'm Jim Green. 405 00:21:17,820 --> 00:21:21,090 I'm the Director of Planetary Science at NASA. 406 00:21:21,090 --> 00:21:26,679 And we're here just outside the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. to take 407 00:21:26,679 --> 00:21:33,830 the Planetary Science walk. 408 00:21:33,830 --> 00:21:39,009 And I hope at the end of this, you'll get an appreciation for how far Pluto really is 409 00:21:39,009 --> 00:21:40,440 away from the Earth. 410 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:43,419 Here we are at the sun, the center of our solar system. 411 00:21:43,419 --> 00:21:47,190 Of course, life on Earth can exist without the sun. 412 00:21:47,190 --> 00:21:53,799 As you can see, the terrestrial planets are maybe 40 feet away from the sun. 413 00:21:53,799 --> 00:21:58,659 Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. 414 00:21:58,659 --> 00:22:09,159 Of course, the Earth is the most studied planet of our solar system. 415 00:22:09,159 --> 00:22:14,669 Our satellites are performing all kinds of observations that give us weather, that give 416 00:22:14,669 --> 00:22:19,659 us the information that we need on our daily lives to live here on Earth. 417 00:22:19,659 --> 00:22:21,410 It's our pale blue dot. 418 00:22:21,410 --> 00:22:25,700 Beyond Earth, Mars is the most studied planet of our solar system. 419 00:22:25,700 --> 00:22:29,440 We've had 42 missions to Mars. 420 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:35,169 Only 16 of them actually have either flown by, orbited, or landed on Mars. 421 00:22:35,169 --> 00:22:39,549 Mars was really quite different than it is today and it's past. 422 00:22:39,549 --> 00:22:46,380 We believe it had clouds, rivers, lakes, oceans, but climate change occurred and it's now a 423 00:22:46,380 --> 00:22:48,299 much more aired planet. 424 00:22:48,299 --> 00:22:49,379 Okay. 425 00:22:49,379 --> 00:22:55,150 We're on our way to Jupiter, but we have to pass through an area where the asteroids live. 426 00:22:55,150 --> 00:23:00,080 They're actually a planet that was trying to come together, but Jupiter's gravity has 427 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:01,960 kept them apart. 428 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:07,360 Right now, we have a mission called Dawn that's now getting into orbit around Ceres, the largest 429 00:23:07,360 --> 00:23:09,860 asteroid in the Asteroid Belt. 430 00:23:09,860 --> 00:23:15,299 Here's where the asteroids would be in this particular area and we're now heading to Jupiter. 431 00:23:15,299 --> 00:23:20,139 But, Jupiter is five times further from the sun than the Earth is. 432 00:23:20,139 --> 00:23:23,370 Here we are, Jupiter, our largest planet. 433 00:23:23,370 --> 00:23:29,299 We've had several flybys of Jupiter starting with the Pioneer 10 and 11, then Voyager 1 434 00:23:29,299 --> 00:23:30,299 and 2. 435 00:23:30,299 --> 00:23:32,390 We have studied many of the moons. 436 00:23:32,390 --> 00:23:44,990 Some of the fabulous moves of Jupiter, like, Ganymede, Callisto, Europa, and Io. 437 00:23:44,990 --> 00:23:48,669 Here we are at the beautiful ring planet, Saturn. 438 00:23:48,669 --> 00:23:50,760 Saturn's been studied now for many years. 439 00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:55,409 We've had flybys by the voyagers, but now, we have Cassini. 440 00:23:55,409 --> 00:23:56,500 Cassini's in orbit. 441 00:23:56,500 --> 00:24:02,030 It's been in orbit for about 10 years now and is making fabulous observations of the 442 00:24:02,030 --> 00:24:04,750 planet, its rings, and its many moons. 443 00:24:04,750 --> 00:24:08,970 It's much bigger than the next two planets, Uranus and Neptune. 444 00:24:08,970 --> 00:24:14,059 But, that's an even bigger hike. 445 00:24:14,059 --> 00:24:22,520 Well, here we are now at the other end of a very long block and we're only at the planet 446 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:23,879 Uranus. 447 00:24:23,879 --> 00:24:25,970 Uranus has been visited by the Voyager. 448 00:24:25,970 --> 00:24:27,879 It's what we call an ice giant. 449 00:24:27,879 --> 00:24:30,419 It's made up of a lot of ices like ammonia. 450 00:24:30,419 --> 00:24:38,419 But, Uranus is much like Neptune and Neptune is an even greater hike down this next block. 451 00:24:38,419 --> 00:24:45,470 Wow, what a walk. 452 00:24:45,470 --> 00:24:49,580 Neptune's been visited by only one spacecraft, Voyager 2. 453 00:24:49,580 --> 00:24:54,080 And it found an array of new moons, fabulous magnetic field. 454 00:24:54,080 --> 00:24:59,659 One of the moons, Triton, orbits the planet in the opposite direction that our moon orbits 455 00:24:59,659 --> 00:25:00,659 the Earth. 456 00:25:00,659 --> 00:25:02,169 It's called retrograde. 457 00:25:02,169 --> 00:25:05,970 We believe Triton may be a Pluto-like object. 458 00:25:05,970 --> 00:25:09,130 We'll only find out when we get to Pluto. 459 00:25:09,130 --> 00:25:10,759 And that's our last stop. 460 00:25:10,759 --> 00:25:15,320 It's almost another half a block from Neptune it's so far away. 461 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:20,240 Now, even though this took us tens of minutes to actually make this walk, the New Horizons 462 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:26,600 spacecraft was launched over nine years ago and it's getting now very close to Pluto. 463 00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:28,039 Finally, here we are at Pluto. 464 00:25:28,039 --> 00:25:31,419 This flyby is going to be absolutely spectacular. 465 00:25:31,419 --> 00:25:36,929 We're going to be able to see this body as we've never seen it before. 466 00:25:36,929 --> 00:25:38,529 Really up close and personal. 467 00:25:38,529 --> 00:25:45,789 You know, Pluto is an object of wonder ever since it was discovered in 1930. 468 00:25:45,789 --> 00:25:48,290 We now know that Pluto has five moons. 469 00:25:48,290 --> 00:25:51,380 As we get closer to it, we may even find more moons. 470 00:25:51,380 --> 00:25:53,570 It may even have rings. 471 00:25:53,570 --> 00:25:55,379 We know that Pluto has an atmosphere. 472 00:25:55,379 --> 00:26:03,210 But, Pluto is really one of hundreds and perhaps thousands of objects we call Kuiper Belt objects. 473 00:26:03,210 --> 00:26:08,169 What we'll learn from Pluto will tell us about that initial event that brought the solar 474 00:26:08,169 --> 00:26:09,570 system together. 475 00:26:09,570 --> 00:26:14,700 It's the last major body in our solar system that we really need to visit. 476 00:26:14,700 --> 00:26:18,840 It's the end of a basic reconnaissance of our solar system. 477 00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:23,610 You know, I'd like to think in the future that we'll find so many fascinating things 478 00:26:23,610 --> 00:26:26,389 out about Pluto, we'll want to go back. 479 00:26:26,389 --> 00:26:31,530 So, today, we're only a few months away from the encounter. 480 00:26:31,530 --> 00:26:35,940 We're less than an astronomical unit, the distance between the Earth and the sun. 481 00:26:35,940 --> 00:26:40,040 That distance away from this fascinating object. 482 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:45,720 Please come online and follow the excitement as we get closer and closer to Pluto. 483 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:46,970 We'll unveil it. 484 00:26:46,970 --> 00:26:49,019 We'll see what it's like. 485 00:26:49,019 --> 00:26:51,960 Pluto, we're on our way. 486 00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:54,860 Now, that's extreme exploration. 487 00:26:54,860 --> 00:26:59,539 And that's also the latest from NASA's New Horizons mission on Pluto's doorstep. 488 00:26:59,539 --> 00:27:04,960 Twenty one days and 16 million miles to go until the flyby, the countdown to Pluto continues.