Pluto Exploration and Characteristics

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, launched in 2006, is on a mission to explore Pluto, a dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt. The mission aims to uncover mysteries about Pluto's surface, including organic matter and its moons. Equipped with LORRI, a high-resolution telescope, New Horizons is expected to reveal unprecedented details about Pluto, offering insights into a new class of worlds. The mission is set to reach Pluto in 2015, promising potential surprises and discoveries.

What is the speed of NASA's New Horizons spacecraft?

• 750,000 miles per day

• 500,000 miles per day

• 1.5 million miles per day

• 1 million miles per day

When was the New Horizons spacecraft launched?

• 2004

• 2005

• 2006

• 2007

How is Pluto classified in the solar system?

• A dwarf planet

• A regular planet

• An asteroid

• A comet

What is the approximate circumference of Pluto at its equator?

• 6,000 miles

• 5,000 miles

• 4,000 miles

• 3,000 miles

What region of space is Pluto a part of?

• Heliosphere

• Kuiper Belt

• Oort Cloud

• Asteroid Belt

What mysterious feature has been observed on Pluto's surface?

• Icy volcanoes

• Molasses-colored patches

• Giant craters

• Dust storms

What is the name of the high-resolution telescope on New Horizons?

• Galileo

• Hubble

• LORRI

• Voyager

How many moons of Pluto were known before New Horizons' approach?

• Five

• Four

• Three

• Two

What is one of the predicted features that researchers expect to find on Pluto?

• Lava flows

• Thick atmosphere

• Icy geysers

• Sand dunes

When is New Horizons expected to reach Pluto?

• 2014

• 2015

• 2017

• 2016