New Horizons left the Earth on 19 January 2006, the fastest launch of its time, and flew past Pluto on 14 July 2015. Its pictures revealed a world of nitrogen-ice plains, water-ice mountains and a blue haze, far more active than expected. On 1 January 2019 it passed Arrokoth, a small reddish object shaped like a snowman, the most distant and most primitive body ever visited. The probe now crosses the Kuiper Belt, measuring the dust and charged particles of the outer solar system. Its distance from the Sun grows by about 14 km every second.
Where is New Horizons now?
Computing…
About New Horizons
- Agency
- NASA
- Launched
- 2006-01-19
- Status
- Active
Goals
New Horizons was built to make the first close-up study of Pluto and its moons, mapping their surfaces, geology and atmospheres. It then explores the Kuiper Belt, a distant ring of icy bodies left over from the formation of the planets, and flew past Arrokoth, the most distant object ever visited by a spacecraft. It also measures the Sun's influence on the outer Solar System.
Today
Beyond 60 AU. Woke from its longest hibernation in good health (July 2026). Extended until it exits the Kuiper Belt (~2028-2029); a further KBO flyby remains possible if a target is found. No end date announced.
Questions and answers
Will New Horizons visit another object?
Its team searches for another target within reach, but none has been found yet; it keeps studying the Kuiper Belt from afar.
How long did it take to reach Pluto?
Nine and a half years, with a boost from Jupiter’s gravity in 2007.
Where the numbers come from
Values refresh every second in your browser; the published data are checked every 10 minutes and updated several times a day.