New Horizons phones home! Nasa confirm probe worked perfectly to capture historic high resolution images of Pluto as it passed by (but now we have to wait for them to be downloaded)

  • New Horizons made its closest approach to Pluto after 3 billion-mile journey that took nine and a half years
  • To celebrate, it released a new image showing Pluto's craters, icy plains and a stunning heart-shaped patch 
  • Scientists faced a tense 13 hour wait to hear if the spacecraft has survived its encounter unscathed
  • Images of the icy world with 10 times the resolution set to be released by Nasa tomorrow

By Richard Gray and Mark Prigg and Ellie Zolfagharifard For Dailymail.com

Published: 04:58 EST, 14 July 2015 | Updated: 05:45 EST, 15 July 2015

Nasa has confirmed its New Horizons probe worked flawlessly on its flight past Pluto - and is now set to begin sending back images that will unravel the mystery of the dwarf planet's strange features. 

The New Horizons probe flew past the dwarf planet at 7:49 a.m. EDT (11:49 GMT) this morning, capturing history's first close look at the distant world.

During its closest approach, the spacecraft came to within 7,800 miles (12,500km) of Pluto's icy surface, travelling at 30,800 mph (49,600 km/h).  

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This is the most detailed image captured of the surface of Pluto yet. It was taken by New Horizons and sent back shortly before it started its final approach towards the dwarf planet. The image reveals incredible detail of craters, possible mountain ranges and icy plains on the surface of the distant world

This is the most detailed image captured of the surface of Pluto yet. It was taken by New Horizons and sent back shortly before it started its final approach towards the dwarf planet. The image reveals incredible detail of craters, possible mountain ranges and icy plains on the surface of the distant world

New Horizons Flight Controllers celebrate after they received confirmation from the spacecraft that it had successfully completed the flyby of Pluto, in the Mission Operations Center (MOC) of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), Laurel, Maryland

New Horizons Flight Controllers celebrate after they received confirmation from the spacecraft that it had successfully completed the flyby of Pluto, in the Mission Operations Center (MOC) of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), Laurel, Maryland

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT...

'Phone home' signal took 4.5 hours to reach Earth. 

The entire process will take over a year to download thousands of images, Nasa said

However, the initial images are expected to be released tomorrow (Wednesday). 

Engineers had around 15 minutes to assess the spacecraft.

Alice Bowman of Nasa, who was given the mission nickname Mom, confirmed the space agency had regained contact with the craft's signal, received at a station in Madrid at 8:55PM EDT.

'We are in lock with telemetry of the spacecraft,' she said to rapturous applause from the assembled scientists at mission control.

'Mom, nominal status, no rules have fired,' controllers reported.

'Looks like we have a good data connection. all hardware is healthy.' 

I can't express this, I'm shaking,' she said.

'It worked just how we practised, we did it!' 

'I know today we've inspired a whole new generation of explorers with this great success, and we look forward to the discoveries yet to come,' NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. 

'This is a historic win for science and for exploration. We've truly, once again raised the bar of human potential.' 

'It's truly a mark in human history,' said John Grunsfeld, Nasa's associate administrator for science from the mission control center at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

'Pluto didn't turn out to be a relatively featureless planet with a foggy nitrogen rich atmosphere as was expected. 

'It has turned out to be a complex and interesting world. 

'For the very first time we know that.' 

New Horizons entered silent mode shortly before beginning its final approach to allow it to devote its power and resources to taking images.

Scientists faced a tense 13-hour wait to hear if the spacecraft has survived its encounter unscathed.

'I am feeling a little bit nervous, as you do when you send your child off,' said Alice Bowman, the mission operations manager. 

'But I have absolute confidence it will do what it's supposed to do.'  

It shows a copper-coloured world, covered with extremely dark patches and a bright, heart-shaped region - an which some have likened to the image of the cartoon character Pluto.

Craters and deep scars can be seen on the surface along with possible mountain ranges and huge icy plains.

Nasa may release another colour image of Pluto today, and by tomorrow, it expects to have images that are 10 times better in resolution. 

This July 13  image of Pluto and Charon is presented in false colours to make differences in surface material easy to see. It was obtained by the Ralph instrument on New Horizons, using three filters to obtain colour information, which is exaggerated in the image. These are not the actual colour of Pluto and Charon, and the apparent distance between the two bodies has been reduced for this side-by-side view

This July 13  image of Pluto and Charon is presented in false colours to make differences in surface material easy to see. It was obtained by the Ralph instrument on New Horizons, using three filters to obtain colour information, which is exaggerated in the image. These are not the actual colour of Pluto and Charon, and the apparent distance between the two bodies has been reduced for this side-by-side view

Scientists reacted with joy and astonishment as they were shown the latest and sharpest image of Pluto, taken shortly before it began its approach towards the dwarf planet

Scientists reacted with joy and astonishment as they were shown the latest and sharpest image of Pluto, taken shortly before it began its approach towards the dwarf planet

After nine and a half years, the New Horizons spacecraft has lifted he veil on the icy world. Pictured are the probe's key instruments

After nine and a half years, the New Horizons spacecraft has lifted he veil on the icy world. Pictured are the probe's key instruments

That is, if the probe survives its journey towards the dwarf plant.

Among the dangers New Horizons will face is a ring of dust that encircles the dwarf planet's equator.

Because it is the fastest spacecraft ever launched, a collision with a particle as small as a grain of rice could incapacitate the probe.

Earlier this month the spacecraft's computer also shut down and went into safe mode during an operation to prepare it for its flyby.

However, scientists leading the mission have insisted it is unlikely to pose any risk to the primary scientific missions.

The moment the sharpest ever images of Pluto were seen by members of the New Horizons science team. The team now face a 13-hour wait to find out if the mission was successful

The moment the sharpest ever images of Pluto were seen by members of the New Horizons science team. The team now face a 13-hour wait to find out if the mission was successful

New Horizons has been sending back increasingly detailed images as it has got closer to Pluto. The image above, taken on 11 July from around one million miles away, shows craters on the reddish surface of Pluto, on the right, and its largest moon Charon, on the left. Light patches on Pluto are thought to be ice on the surface

New Horizons has been sending back increasingly detailed images as it has got closer to Pluto. The image above, taken on 11 July from around one million miles away, shows craters on the reddish surface of Pluto, on the right, and its largest moon Charon, on the left. Light patches on Pluto are thought to be ice on the surface

Guest and New Horizons team members count down to the spacecraft's closest approach to Pluto. The moment of closest approach for the New Horizons spacecraft came around 7:49am EDT this morning

Guest and New Horizons team members count down to the spacecraft's closest approach to Pluto. The moment of closest approach for the New Horizons spacecraft came around 7:49am EDT this morning

The diagram above shows just how close New Horizons is to Pluto and the path it will take between the dwarf planet and its moons. At 9.06am BST on Tuesday the spacecraft was just 115,364 miles from Pluto

The diagram above shows just how close New Horizons is to Pluto and the path it will take between the dwarf planet and its moons. At 9.06am BST on Tuesday the spacecraft was just 115,364 miles from Pluto

Nasa has also today released a false-colour image of Pluto and Charon taken on July 13 showing their geological structures in greater depth. 

The new colour images reveal that the 'heart' of Pluto actually consists of two remarkably different-coloured regions. In the false-colour image, the heart consists of a western lobe shaped like an ice cream cone that appears peach color in this image. 

 mottled area on the right side looks bluish. A mid-latitude band appears in shades ranging from pale blue through red. Even within the northern polar cap, in the upper part of the image, various shades of yellow-orange indicate subtle compositional differences.

The surface of Charon is viewed using the same exaggerated colour.

The red on the dark northern polar cap of Charon is attributed to hydrocarbon and other molecules, a class of chemical compounds called tholins. The mottled colours at lower latitudes point to the diversity of terrains on Charon.

In recent days, scientists have also learned that Pluto, once considered the ninth and outermost planet of the solar system, is bigger than thought.

They believe it has a diameter of about 1,473 miles (2,370 km), it is some 50 miles (80 km) wider than previous predictions.

A tweet from the project's official account described the mission as like being 'Christmas in July' and the team had been up all night as they waited for the first contact from the spacecraft.

If New Horizons is successful, the inventory of major worlds in our solar system will be complete.

As a column in the New York Times points out, none of us alive today will see a new planet up close for the first time again. 

This is, as Alan Stern, the leader of the New Horizons mission, says, 'the last picture show.'

 

New Horizons is thought to have spent eight minutes at its closest point to Pluto - the first time a spacecraft has visited the planet - from 12.49pm BST (7.49am EDT).

All the way through its approach, fly past and as it draws away, New Horizons will point its instruments at Pluto and its five moons Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos and Hydra.

During this time it will not be in contact with Earth as all of its resources will be dedicated to collecting data and taking pictures. 

It will take high resolution images of the dwarf planet's surface, revealing some of the tantalising features spotted during the approach in unprecedented detail.

Pictured on the left Bill Nye with New Horizon scientists Carly Howett and Alex Parker, celebrating reaching the 'ninth planet'

Pictured on the left Bill Nye with New Horizon scientists Carly Howett and Alex Parker, celebrating reaching the 'ninth planet'

Principal Investigator for New Horizons mission Alan Stern (left) and Co-Investigator Will Grundy (right) hold up an enlarged, out-dated U.S. postage stamp with the words 'Pluto not yet explored', during the celebration of the spacecraft New Horizons flyby of Pluto

Principal Investigator for New Horizons mission Alan Stern (left) and Co-Investigator Will Grundy (right) hold up an enlarged, out-dated U.S. postage stamp with the words 'Pluto not yet explored', during the celebration of the spacecraft New Horizons flyby of Pluto

NEW HORIZONS' HISTORIC FLYBY OF PLUTO

New Horizons came to within 7,800 miles (12,500 km) from Pluto at 7:49 a.m. EDT/1149 GMT today. 

It has become the first probe to visit distant Pluto, capping a reconnaissance of the solar system that began more than 50 years ago. 

New Horizons will now remain radio silent for much of the day so that it can concentrate on gathering data.

Here is an overview of what will happen today: 

7.49am EDT: New Horizons made it closes approach at  7,800 miles (12,500 km)

8:04am: The probe made its closest approach to Charon at 17,960 miles (28,900 km)

8:51am: New Horizons passed through Pluto's shadow, allowing it to probe the dwarf planet's atmosphere

10.18am: It passes through Charon's shadow, allowing it to search for an atmosphere

8.53 pm: Mission team on Earth should receive a preprogrammed 'phone home' signal, which, if all went well, will indicate the spacecraft survived 

After passing Pluto, New Horizons will flyby one or several Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs), other bodies beyond the orbit of Pluto. The mission will officially end in 2026. 

New Horizons is thought to have spent eight minutes at its closest point to Pluto - the first time a spacecraft has visited the planet - from 12.49pm BST (7.49am EDT).

All the way through its approach, fly past and as it draws away, New Horizons will point its instruments at Pluto and its five moons Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos and Hydra.

During this time it will not be in contact with Earth as all of its resources will be dedicated to collecting data and taking pictures. 

It will take high resolution images of the dwarf planet's surface, revealing some of the tantalising features spotted during the approach in unprecedented detail.

The spacecraft will also make measurements about Pluto's strange atmosphere, which is thought to only exist for part of its year. 

Images taken by New Horizons just over one million miles away on 11 July, (shown above) revealed cliffs and impact craters on the surface of Pluto. Scientists hope to get a closer look at these during the close encounter

Images taken by New Horizons just over one million miles away on 11 July, (shown above) revealed cliffs and impact craters on the surface of Pluto. Scientists hope to get a closer look at these during the close encounter

New Horizons (artist's impression pictured) has given scientists a close up look at the surface of Pluto and its complex patterns when it flies past the planet at just 7,750 miles (12,472km)

New Horizons (artist's impression pictured) has given scientists a close up look at the surface of Pluto and its complex patterns when it flies past the planet at just 7,750 miles (12,472km)

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? 

Shortly after its closest point to Pluto, the New Horizons spacecraft is expected to pass through clouds of dust that have been seen accumulated in orbit around the equatorial plane of the dwarf planet.

Even a glancing blow could fatally damage the spacecraft or send it tumbling off course during the crucial moments as it gathers scientific data.

The spacecraft's central propellant container is considered to be the most vulnerable spot.

New Horizons also suffered a software glitch earlier this month as mission scientists uploaded a series of commands for operations to prepare for the flyby of Pluto.

This sent the spacecraft's main computer into safe mode and saw scientific measurements temporarily halted.

If something similar happens during the fly by, the most important scientific data could be lost.

There have also been some concerns that Pluto may also have an unseen moon in orbit that could also pose a hazard but New Horizons has been scouring the space around Pluto as it approached for any risks.

Other instruments will study the surface temperature and geology, the clouds of ionised gas surrounding the planet, and the dust clouds that orbit it.

Scientists are hoping to get a closer look at a strange heart-shaped bright patch on Pluto's reddish surface along with craters and features that are thought to be massive cliffs.

They are also hoping to see enormous craters and chasms in the icy surface of Pluto's largest moon Charon.

Speaking to Mail Online, Professor Alan Stern, the principal investigator for the New Horizons' mission, said the tense wait during the close encounter was the culmination of 15 years of work. 

He said: 'There is a small chance New Horizons will be lost during a debris strike.'

'Experts say that the chance this will happen will 1 in 10,000 or less. But until we hear back from it we won't know. We are flying into the unknown.

'The adrenaline is intense at the moment. [I'm] literally sleeping four hours a night and feeling great.

'I mean, just look at the images. It's unlike anything. This is the most science fiction-looking world you'll ever see.' 

Among the last batch of data sent back by New Horizons before it entered its silent flight mode was a 600 pixel wide full frame image of Pluto.

It will be the most detailed picture of the dwarf planet until scientists hear from the spacecraft again shortly before 1am GMT (2am BST).

However, at that point the first contact from the spacecraft will be diagnostic data to report on the status of the probe. Only then will they know if the mission has been successful.

The first images are not expected to be received until late on Wednesday.

It takes almost four hours for messages from New Horizons to travel the 2.9 billion miles back to Earth.

The first messages and images are expected to be picked up by the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex in Australia, giving the world its first glimpse of this alien world. 

The science team at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland reacted with delight as features have emerged in the images being sent back by New Horizons. They have been told to relish the once in a lifetime mission

The science team at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland reacted with delight as features have emerged in the images being sent back by New Horizons. They have been told to relish the once in a lifetime mission

Dr Lewis Ball, head of astronomy and space science at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation which runs the complex, said: 'There is so much we don't know and not just about Pluto, but also about similar worlds.

'Reaching this part of our solar system has been a space science priority for years, because it holds building blocks of our solar system that have been stored in a deep freeze for billions of years.'

It will be the first spacecraft to visit the mysterious and frozen world, which orbits nearly 3.7 billion miles (6 billion km) from the sun. 

The images sent back by New Horizons so far are already revealed Pluto and its largest moon Charon to be intriguing worlds.

Large dark patches are smeared across Pluto's reddish surface while bright patches, thought to be frozen nitrogen, methane and carbon monoxide on the planet's surface.

New Horizons will focus its instruments on a heart shaped patch of this suspected ice as it passes.

Strange dark 'alien' spots seen on the surface in earlier images will now not be seen again until the probe has sailed past Pluto due to the rotation of the planet.

EXPERIENCE NEW HORIZONS' VIEW OF PLUTO FOR YOURSELF

Without any contact from New Horizons as it flies past Pluto, it will not be possible to watch its encounter with the most distant world in our solar system in real time.

However, Nasa has developed the Eyes on the Solar System app which will allow you to watch a simulation of the historic moment as it will happen.

It allows users to see Pluto and its largest moon Charon from the spacecraft's point of view, while giving details of how many miles it has left to travel to the dwarf planet.

The app even makes it possible to see where New Horizons will be pointing four of its instruments and which parts of Pluto will be in view at any given time. 

The Eyes on the Solar System app allows users to fly with the New Horizons spacecaft in a computer simulation and see the distant world and its moons much as the probe itself will be experiencing them

The Eyes on the Solar System app allows users to fly with the New Horizons spacecaft in a computer simulation and see the distant world and its moons much as the probe itself will be experiencing them

Charon has emerged as a strange grey world that may be made up of considerable amounts of water ice.

In images sent back from just over one million miles away, scientists believe they have found huge chasms and craters far longer and deeper than the Grand Canyon found here on Earth.

William McKinnon, deputy lead scientist with the New Horizons' Geology and Geophysics investigation team who is based at Washington University in St Louis , said: 'This is the first clear evidence of faulting and surface disruption on Charon.

'New Horizons has transformed our view of this distant moon from a nearly featureless ball of ice to a world displaying all kinds of geologic activity.'

After passing Pluto, New Horizons will flyby one or several Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs), other bodies beyond the orbit of Pluto. The mission will officially end in 2026. 

Pictures of Pluto's largest moon Charon have also allowed scientists to see enormous chasms and craters on the surface. A 200 mile wide dark region around the north pole has proved to be particularly baffling

Pictures of Pluto's largest moon Charon have also allowed scientists to see enormous chasms and craters on the surface. A 200 mile wide dark region around the north pole has proved to be particularly baffling

This map of Pluto's surface shows some of the features scientists are most intersted in, includuing a long dark patch they have nicknamed 'The Whale' around the equator and dark spots on the far right of the image above

This map of Pluto's surface shows some of the features scientists are most intersted in, includuing a long dark patch they have nicknamed 'The Whale' around the equator and dark spots on the far right of the image above

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