NASA's Discoveries at Pluto

Pluto's Varied Terrain: New Horizons revealed that Pluto is not a dead world but has a dynamic surface with a range of terrains. This includes vast plains, mountainous regions, and a large, heart-shaped feature named Tombaugh Regio.Show more

Icy Plains: The spacecraft found evidence of extensive frozen plains, possibly made of nitrogen and methane ices, covering parts of Pluto's surface.

Mountains of Ice: New Horizons discovered towering mountains of water ice that reach heights of over 11,000 feet (3,500 meters). These mountains rival the Rocky Mountains in size.

Charon's Geology: New Horizons also explored Pluto's largest moon, Charon, revealing a diverse landscape with canyons, impact craters, and evidence of a subsurface ocean.

Atmosphere and Haze: The mission characterized Pluto's thin atmosphere, which consists mainly of nitrogen. It also discovered layers of haze and observed that Pluto's atmosphere extends farther into space than previously thought.

Moons: New Horizons found four small moons orbiting Pluto: Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra. These moons have irregular shapes and unique properties.

Composition: Spectral data from the spacecraft's instruments provided insights into Pluto's surface composition, including the presence of water ice and other complex molecules.

These discoveries significantly expanded our understanding of Pluto and its system, challenging previous assumptions and sparking further interest in exploring the outer reaches of