Since the time humans appeared on Earth, curiosity has always been a prominent part of our nature, which has led to our discoveries and knowledge of space, science and technology. One of the biggest effects of this curiosity is space exploration. Humans have always wondered what is beyond our planet, beyond our solar system and the universe. The thought of space exploration triggered pivotal discoveries and inventions which allowed flight, rocket ships and probes possible. Space exploration has allowed humans to push the boundaries of technology and science, explore new distant worlds, discover the unknown and make science-fiction, reality.
New Horizons Spacecraft.
New Horizons has travelled in space for more than nine years, and 4.8 billion kilometres to perform humankind's first close fly-by of Pluto. The New Horizons spacecraft was launched by NASA on the 19th of January 2006. New Horizons is the first mission of The New Frontiers program which is planned to explore the entire solar system. The spacecraft was due to arrive at Pluto and its moons on July 15th 2015, and it did so within 75 seconds. The unmanned space craft was launched on America's most powerful rocket, which was tricked out with every imaginable booster. New Horizons principle investigator, Alan Stern commented on the craft, "We bought a very light spacecraft and bought a very large launch vehicle and the combination is ferocious". NASA's spacecraft has explored to the edge of our solar system, in nine years, collecting valuable data along the way.
Equipment.
New Horizons is unmanned as it is impossible for man to survive at travelling at 60,000km or in the environment. It is equipped with seven instruments which have a range of capabilities including equipment such as cameras, spectrographs and radio antennae which will study Pluto and later the Kuiper belt. The instruments are designed to investigate the global geology, surface composition and temperature, and the atmospheric pressure, temperature and escape rate of Pluto and its moons.