New Horizons conducted the first-ever close flyby of Pluto and its moons in July 2015, revealing nitrogen glaciers, towering water-ice mountains, and an active cryosphere. In 2019, it conducted the most distant planetary flyby in history at contact-binary planetesimal Arrokoth. It is currently cruising through the deep Kuiper Belt conducting heliophysics, dust, and astrophysics sky-background observations.
| Sensor | Subsystem | Scientific Measurement Function | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| LORRI | Long Range Reconnaissance Imager |
High-resolution visible telescope for distant Kuiper Belt objects.
|
Active |
| Ralph | Visible & Infrared Imager |
Color maps and infrared composition spectra.
|
Active |
| Alice | Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer |
Atmospheric search and ultraviolet background glow.
|
Active |
| SWAP | Solar Wind Around Pluto |
Measures solar wind deceleration near the outer heliosphere.
|
Active |
| PEPSSI | Energetic Particle Spectrometer |
Samples pick-up ions and outer heliospheric particle acceleration.
|
Active |
| SDC | Student Dust Counter |
Continuously counts interplanetary and interstellar dust impacts.
|
Active |