A robotic flyby mission to the planet Pluto is being planned for launch early in the next decade. The spacecraft will continue on out of the solar system in an almost radial direction traveling at about four AU per year and begin transiting the Kuiper Belt shortly after Pluto encounter.

Kuiper↗

NASA NTRS1994

Pluto Mission Development Status

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Pluto↗

NASA NTRS1994

Pluto Mission Development Status

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Pluto Charon low cost missions surface mapping of ↗

NASA NTRS1994

The Astrometric Imaging Telescope Optical System

This oral presentation describes the Astrometric Imaging Telescope as a space-based observatory designed to detect and study planetary systems and circumstellar material around hundreds of nearby stars.

N/A↗

NASA NTRS1994

Pluto Fast Flyby: An Overview of the Mission and Spacecraft Design, Advanced Technology Insertion Efforts, and Student Involvement Opportunities

In an effort to complete the initial reconnanissance of our solar system, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is designing a mission to send two very small spacecraft to explore Pluto and its moon, Charon.

spacecraft Pluto Charon mission spacecraft design ↗

NASA NTRS1994

To Pluto from a First-Class Postage Stamp

It really began in 1900, when Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in Russia published the first scientific paper describing how a multi-stage rocket could achieve the 9 km/sec velocity needed to place an object in orbit around the Earth.

Planet-X↗

NASA NTRS1993

To Pluto from a First-Class Postage Stamp

The first mission to Pluto is presently under development at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Inspired by a nagging 29-cent postage stamp, the mission concept began with a chance conversation between two engineers.

Pluto flyby NASA first mission to Pluto↗