NASA has opened media accreditation for the New Horizons spacecraft’s historic encounter with Pluto in mid-July.
Media will have the opportunity to cover the New Horizons’ mission, including the spacecraft’s closest approach to the dwarf planet on July 14, from the Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland where the mission operations center resides. NASA also will provide comprehensive NASA Television, NASA.gov and social media coverage of the New Horizons mission as the spacecraft closes in on Pluto in the coming weeks. Details of coverage will be released as they become available.
Following a nine-year journey of more than 3 billion miles, New Horizons will pass approximately 7,800 miles (12,500 kilometers) above Pluto’s surface. The spacecraft will zip through the Pluto system at more than 30,000 mph (about 50,000 km/h) with the most powerful suite of science instruments ever sent to the outer solar system.
Media who wish to cover the July 14 flyby and other related events that week at APL must get accreditation from the APL Public Affairs Office by June 30. Earlier registration is strongly encouraged as space is very limited. To apply, and for more information, visit:
http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/Media-Registration.php
New Horizons is the first mission to the Kuiper Belt, a gigantic zone of icy bodies and mysterious small objects orbiting beyond Neptune. It marks the first direct exploration of the “third” zone of our solar system, beyond the inner rocky planets and outer gas giants.
APL designed, built, and operates the New Horizons spacecraft, and manages the mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio leads the science team, payload operations and encounter science planning. New Horizons is part of the New Frontiers Program managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
For more information on the New Horizons mission, including fact sheets, schedules, video and images, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/newhorizons
Follow the New Horizons mission on social media, and use the hashtag #PlutoFlyby to join the conversation. The mission’s official NASA Twitter account is @NASANewHorizons. Live updates will be available on Facebook at:
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Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov
Mike Buckley
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md.
240-228-7536
michael.buckley@jhuapl.edu
Maria Stothoff
Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio
210-522-3305
maria.stothoff@swri.org