TED-ED: The journey to Pluto, the farthest world ever explored - Alan Stern

The New Horizons spacecraft, launched by NASA, embarked on a mission to explore Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. After a 9.5-year journey, it faced a critical moment when contact was lost, but the team successfully restored its core load. The mission revealed Pluto's diverse features and continued to explore beyond, aiming to study more distant objects in the Kuiper Belt.

What was the primary reason for the New Horizons mission to explore Pluto?

• To test new spacecraft technology

• To mine resources from Pluto

• To collect scientific data and explore the Kuiper Belt

• To establish a human colony

Why was it crucial for New Horizons to reach Pluto before 2020?

• Pluto would become too hot to study

• Pluto would collide with another planet

• Pluto's atmosphere might freeze

• Pluto would move out of the solar system

What technique did New Horizons use to increase its speed after launch?

• Nuclear propulsion

• Solar sails

• Ion propulsion

• Gravity assist from Jupiter

What was the main challenge of the New Horizons flyby mission?

• Slowing down to orbit Pluto

• Communicating with Earth in real-time

• Landing on Pluto

• Making observations in a single pass

What critical issue did New Horizons face just 10 days before reaching Pluto?

• A collision with an asteroid

• Loss of contact with Earth

• A fuel leak

• A malfunctioning camera

Who led the team to restore New Horizons' core load after the computer reboot?

• Elon Musk

• Alice Bowman

• Neil Armstrong

• Carl Sagan

What unique feature was discovered on Pluto by New Horizons?

• A large ocean

• A 1000-kilometer-wide glacier called Sputnik Planitia

• A massive volcano

• A dense forest