New Horizons Pluto/KB Mission Status Report for OPAG

PI Alan Stern SwRI

New Horizons/New Frontiers 1

Pluto-Charon July 2015

KBOs 2016-2020

Jupiter System Feb-March 2007

Launch Jan 2006

NH SPACECRAFT AND PAYLOAD

2.1 meters Science Team: PI: Alan Stern Fran Bagenal Rick Binzel Bonnie Buratti Andy Cheng Dale Cruikshank Randy Gladstone Will Grundy Dave Hinson Mihaly Horanyi Don Jennings Ivan Linscott Jeff Moore Dave McComas Bill McKinnon Ralph McNutt Scott Murchie Cathy Olkin Carolyn Porco Harold Reitsema Dennis Reuter John Spencer Darrell Strobel Mike Summers Len Tyler Hal Weaver Leslie Young Both spacecraft and payload are performing well.

HIGH PAYLOAD FUNTIONAL REDUNDANCY

WITH A BEVY OF NEW

SCIENCE

JUPITER SUCCESS!

Crossed Uranus orbit 2011-March-18 (Same day MESSENGER entered Mercury orbit)

Crossing Neptune orbit 2014-August-25 (Exactly 25 years after Voyager 2/Triton)

Pluto Closest Approach 2015-July-14 (Exactly 50 years after Mariner 4/Mars)

PLUTO SYSTEM ENCOUNTER: SCIENCE OBJECTIVES

ENCOUNTER GEOMETRY AND NOMENCLATURE

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec AP1! AP2! DP2! DP3!

AP3! DP1!NEP!

2015

AP - Approach Phase, DP - Departure Phase, NEP – Near Encounter Phase

MISSION STATUS •  New Horizons is healthy and remains on track

–  The science objectives should be achieved or exceeded •  Nix, Hydra, Kerberus (P4), and Styx (P5) added (new discoveries) •  More data to be collected than originally planned (~7x larger)

–  Robust encounter timeline with built-in redundancy to ensure success –  Largely complete.

•  Encounter Rehearsals Completed –  Most intense 22 hr flyby segment successfully conducted in May 2012

(“stress test”) –  P-7 to P+2 “Core Sequence” just completed successfully (July 5-14)!

•  Hazard Concerns Largely Mitigated (see next slides)

•  Conducting intensive search for KBOs that are targetable by New Horizons during extended mission –  Using large ground based telescopes with Hubble follow-up

PLUTO’S PLETHORA OF SATELLITES: GOOD NEWS AND BAD

Hubble: May 2005 Hubble: July 2012 Pluto + 5 Moons With Names!

Six for the price of one, but with strings attached. Where there are small satellites, there will be debris. A collision between mm-sized particles and the NH spacecraft moving at ~14 km/s could result in a loss of mission, but we think NH is safe on current trajectory.

Names: P4 = Kerberus, P5 = Styx

CONCERNS

•  Impact Hazards Owing to Satellite Ejecta in the System –  Largely mitigated: Probability of LOM is estimated now at <0.3% –  Two alternate encounters being planned (“SHBOTs”)

•  Pluto heliocentric ephemeris error –  Recent analysis shows systematic error in ephemeris derived from

visible light astrometry –  This is a KBO accessibility (propellant) risk, not a mission risk –  Plan to use ALMA to measure Pluto’s position relative to quasars –  Reanalysis of Lowell historical plates will also help

Triton & Pluto At Best HST Resolution

Triton from Voyager

Charon Detection July 2013

TYAN

Next Week, At APL

Registration remains open! http://plutoscience.jhuapl.edu

Backups

CRUISE 1: TO JUPITER L+60

(9wks) Instrument Calibration, Commissioning, MVIC OpNav(L+165), Interference test

5x8 2x8 5x8 2x8 3x8 2,7,9,5,3,3,3x8h/wk 2x8h/wk 3x8h/wk 2x8h/wk 7x8 3x8

Solar Conjunction DOY 323-331

L+365

(5wks) Instrument Calibration & Commissioning 3A

90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330

Instr. Comm. (4wks)

PS-Hibernation PS-Normal PS-TCM

AS-Normal AS-TCM AS-EA AS-SA

3A-Normal 3A-Encounter 3A-TCM

L+75 CDH 3.5 load

L+305 (DOY286) Autonomy Rel. 14

L+211 (DOY 230) CDH 4.1 load

L+253 (DOY 272) GC 4.0 load

L+ 64 Autonomy Rel. 12d

L+ 106 Autonomy Rel. 12e

3A-Enc mode c/o

Autonomy Rel. 13 (DOY 188)

Instrument Calibration & Commissioning Spin Mode

Instrument Calibration & Commissioning Spin Mode

CRUISE 2: ACROSS THE DEEP

PS-Hibernation PS-Normal PS-TCM

AS-Normal AS-TCM AS-EA AS-SA

3A-Normal 3A-Encounter 3A-TCM

2014 (6/14-8/14) Annual c/o8 TCM 15

Weekly Beacon, monthly TM. contact in PS-H. 2-3x8h/wk for Annual C/O 7x 8h/d for Precess TCMs in 3A-TCM or AS-TCM

P-200

2008 (9/08-12/08) Annual c/o 2

J+120

Precess 11/20/07

Precess 12/27/07

Precess 12/18/08

2007 (9/07-11/07) Annual c/o 1

2010 (9/10-11/10) Annual c/o 4 TCM 11 (P-5y)

2009 (9/09-11/09) Annual c/o 3

2011 (9/11-11/11) Annual c/o 5

2012 (6/12-8/12) Annual c/o 6 TCM 13 (P-3y)

2013 (6/13-8/13) Annual c/o 7 Enc Rehearsal

Precess 06/11/10

Precess 11/25/11

Precess 12/10/10

OpNavs last annual c/o: 1 every 12hrs for 7 days

Precess 05/29/08

Precess 06/09/09

Precess 12/13/09

Precess 06/15/11

P-1yr

Phase in PS-H

MID CRUISE

SHBOT TRAJECTORIES

CLOSEST APPROACH

0.24°

Sun!Earth!

Hydra

Pluto

Nix

Charon

New Horizons Trajectory Pluto C/A 11:50:00 13,695 km 13.78 km/s

Charon C/A 12:04:00 29,432 km 13.87 km/s

Pluto-Sun Occultation 12:51:28

Charon-Sun Occultation 14:17:50

Pluto-Earth Occultation 12:52:30 15:00

11:00

•  S/C trajectory time ticks: 10 min •  Occultation: center time •  Position and lighting at Pluto C/A •  Distance relative to body center

Orbit Period a Charon 6.4 d 19,571 km Nix 24.9 d 48,675 km Hydra 38.2 d 64,780 km

12:00

13:00

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