Pluto

TECHNICAL DEFINITION

Pluto is a dwarf planet (IAU designation 134340 Pluto) located in the Kuiper Belt, characterized by its icy composition, five known moons (Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos, Hydra), and a highly eccentric, inclined orbit around the Sun, explored by NASA's New Horizons mission.

BACKGROUND

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the United States' civil space program and for research in aeronautics and space. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NASA operates ten field centers across the U.S. and is organized into three mission directorates: Human Spaceflight, Research and Technology, and Science. Established in 1958 amid the Space Race, NASA succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the U.S. space program a distinct civilian orientation focused on peaceful applications. Since then, it has led most American spaceflight programs, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the Apollo program, Skylab, the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station (ISS) and the ongoing multi-national Artemis program.

SYNONYMS & ALIASES

• Dwarf planet Pluto
• 134340 Pluto
• Kuiper Belt object

USAGE NOTE

The reclassification of Pluto sparked significant debate but helped refine our understanding of planetary definitions.

DEVELOPERS

Organizations developing technology related to Pluto.

• NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)

  The U.S. government agency responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA funded, launched, and managed the New Horizons mission, the first spacecraft to conduct a flyby of Pluto.

• Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)

  A not-for-profit research and development center that designed, built, and operates the New Horizons spacecraft for NASA. APL manages the mission and its encounters with Pluto and other Kuiper Belt Objects.

• Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)

  An independent, nonprofit applied research and development organization. SwRI is home to Alan Stern, the Principal Investigator of the New Horizons mission, and leads the mission's science team and payload operations.

• Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.

  A manufacturer of spacecraft, components, and instruments for national defense, civil space, and commercial space applications. Ball Aerospace built the Ralph instrument for New Horizons, which provided the mission's iconic color images and surface composition maps of Pluto.

• Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

  A federally funded research and development center and NASA field center. JPL manages NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN), the worldwide network of antennas responsible for communicating with the New Horizons spacecraft during its journey to and encounter with Pluto.

• United Launch Alliance (ULA)

  A provider of spacecraft launch services to the U.S. government. ULA's Atlas V rocket was used to launch the New Horizons probe in 2006, giving it the initial velocity needed to reach Pluto.