New Horizons

The passage and the observations of the probe near Pluto took place from January 2015 to October 2016 with the crossing of the Plutonian system on July 14, 2016. The probe took magnificent pictures showing unsuspected details made with the LORRI camera.

Instruments on board analyzed the icy surface and the tiny atmosphere of Pluto. Results were very interesting: the surface appears without craters (young surface) and high mountains made of water ice are present. The atmosphere is made by the sublimation of the surface. Due to the large eccentricty of the orbit, the atmosphere disappears completely at the aphelion and is reconstitued when approaching the perihelion.