>>> GOOD AFTERNOON. WELCOME TO THE JOHNS HOPKINS
APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY IN LOWER MARYLAND.
MY NAME IS DWAYNE BROWN WITH THE OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS.
TO SET THE STAGE FOR TODAY'S PRESS CONFERENCE, PLEASE WELCOME
TO THE PODIUM THE ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR NASA'S SCIENCE
MISSION AND DIRECTORATE IN WASHINGTON, D.C., DR. JOHN
RUMSFELD. [ APPLAUSE ]
>> WELCOME, EVERYONE. IT'S A FULL AUDITORIUM HERE AT
THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED PHYSICS LAB.
I WOULD WORRIED NO ONE WOULD SHOW UP.
ACTUALLY, I WASN'T WORRIED AT ALL.
ANYBODY GET ANY SLEEP LAST NIGHT?
I'M NOT HEARING TOO MANY AFFIRMATIONS OF A GOOD NIGHT
SLEEP. I'M NOT GOING TO ASK THE TEAM,
BECAUSE I KNOW THEY WERE PROBABLY PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT
THIS MORNING'S DATA PASS, AS WAS I.
I'D LIKE TO TAKE YOU ON A SHORT TOUR TO FRAME THE DISCUSSION,
AND I'M NOT GOING TO SAY A WHOLE LOT.
THE FIRST IMAGE THAT I'D LIKE TO BRING UP WAS TAKEN JUST ABOUT
TWO HOURS AGO BY THE SOLAR DYNAMICS OBSERVATORY.
I HOPE YOU RECOGNIZE THAT OBJECT, AND I THINK YOU KNOW
WHERE WE'RE GOING, MERCURY. FROM THE MESSENGER MISSION,
VENUS FROM MAGELLAN. IF ANYBODY DOESN'T RECOGNIZE THE
NEXT PLANET, I'D LIKE YOU TO LEAVE THE AUDITORIUM.
SECURITY WILL ESCORT YOU TO AREA 51.
[ LAUGHTER ] [ APPLAUSE ]
THE RED PLANET, MARS, I HAD TO GET A HUBBLE IMAGE IN THERE
SOMEWHERE. I REALIZE I MISSED SIRI, WHICH
WAS ON THE SPACECRAFT ORBITING RIGHT NOW, JUPITER, WITH SOME OF
THE MOONS IN SHADOW FROM THE GALILEO SPACECRAFT.
WHAT A WONDERFUL MISSION. THIS IS JUST A STRIKING IMAGE.
URANUS, SOMEONE MADE A WISECRACK THAT I PUT IT IN SIDEWAYS.
NEPTUNE. AND FOR A GRAND FINALE, I TURN
IT OVER TO ALLEN STERN, THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR OF THE
PLUTO NEW HORIZONS MISSION. [ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]
>> WELL, BEFORE WE TURN IT OVER TO ALLEN, I HAVE A FEW WORDS TO
SAY. YESTERDAY, AMERICA'S SPACE
PROGRAM TOOK ANOTHER HISTORIC LEAP FOR HUMANKIND.
TODAY, THE NEW HORIZONS TEAM IS BRINGING WHAT WAS PREVIOUSLY A
BLURRED POINT OF LIGHT INTO FOCUS.
WE HAVE PRESENTATIONS FROM OUR PANEL, WE'LL OPEN UP FOR
QUESTIONS WITH MEDIA HERE, ON SOCIAL MEDIA, AND WE'LL GO TO
THE PHONE LINES. YOU CAN JOIN THE CONVERSATION ON
SOCIAL MEDIA, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, AT HASH TAG #PLUTOFLYBY, AND IF
YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ON SOCIAL MEDIA, SEND THEM IN TO #ASKNASA.
THE IMAGES AND INFORMATION TODAY FOR MORE DAYS AND WEEKS AND
MONTHS WILL BE ONLINE AT WWW.NASA.GOV/NEWHORIZONS.
YOU'VE HEARD FROM DR. JOHN RUMSFELD, OF COURSE, ALLEN STERN
NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION, SO I WILL GO TO THE PROJECT SCIENTIST FOR
THE JOHNS HOPKINS APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY, FOLLOWED BY
WILL GRUNDY, NEW HORIZONS CO-INVESTIGATOR, LOWELL OBSERVE
IN FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA. FOLLOWED BY DEPUTY SCIENTIST AT
THE SOUTHWEST INSTITUTE, AND JOHN SPENCER, ANOTHER NEW
HORIZONS CO-INVESTIGATOR FROM THE SOUTHWEST RESEARCH
INSTITUTE. AND WITH THAT, ALLEN, IT'S ALL
YOURS. >> THANK YOU.
WELL, I HAD A PRETTY GOOD DAY YESTERDAY, HOW ABOUT YOU?
[ APPLAUSE ] WELL, NEW HORIZONS IS NOW MORE
THAN A MILLION MILES ON THE OTHER SIDE OF PLUTO.
THAT'S HOW FAST WE'RE MOVING, HAVING MADE CLOSEST APPROACH
YESTERDAY MORNING. THE SPACECRAFT'S IN GOOD HEALTH,
IT'S COMMUNICATED WITH THE EARTH AGAIN FOR A NUMBER OF HOURS THIS
MORNING, BEGINNING ABOUT 5:50. WE GOT DATA DOWN FROM FIVE OF
THE SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS ALREADY, AND WE'RE GOING TO
REPORT ON SOME OF THOSE RESULTS, BUT FRANKLY, WE'RE JUST SKIMMING
THE TOP OF IT. THERE'S A LOT IN JUST THE THINGS
WE'VE TALKED TO YOU ABOUT. WE HAVE BIG NEWS, FROM THE FIRST
RESOLVED IMAGE OF HYDRA, THE OUTER MOST MOON, SHARON HAS BEEN
ACTIVE. [ APPLAUSE ]
AND THERE ARE MOUNTAINS. YOU'LL ENJOY THAT.
THIS SYSTEM IS AMAZING. NOW ALL OF OUR MOONS TODAY
RELATES TO THE SURFACES OF PLUTO AND ITS SATELLITES.
WE'LL BE TALKING MORE ABOUT THE SURFACES IN THE PRESS EVENT ON
FRIDAY DOWN AT NASA HEADQUARTERS, BUT WE'LL ALSO BE
BRINGING IN ATMOSPHERIC RESULTS AT THAT POINT.
I DO WANT TO ANNOUNCE ONE PIECE OF MOOD, THE ALICE ULTRAVIOLET
SPECTROMETER GOT A GREAT DATA SET TO THE GROUND FROM THE UV
SOLAR OBSERVATION, WHICH WE'RE ALREADY LEARNING ABOUT PLUTO'S
ATMOSPHERE, SO STAY TUNED FOR FRIDAY ON THAT.
SO WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO THE PROJECT
SCIENTISTS. HOWARD IS GOING TO GIVE YOU A
BIT OF HYDRO THERAPY. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH, ALLEN.
WELL, PLUTO AND SHARON ARE GOING TO STEAL THE DAY TODAY.
I MEAN, THIS IS -- THESE IMJ AS YOU'LL SEE IN A FEW MINUTES, BUT
LET'S NOT FORGET THAT PLUTO HAS FOUR SMALL MOONS, AS WELL, THAT
WE WANT TO COLLECT DATA ON. STARTING CLOSE TO PLUTO AND
GOING OUT, STYX, NIX, KERBOROS, AND HYDRA.
WE GOT RESOLVED IMAGES OF HYDRA, WHICH IS SHOWN TO ME HERE FROM
THE NATIVE SCALE TWO MILES PER PIXEL.
THIS IS ABOUT THE SAME NUMBER OF PIXELS ACROSS HYDRA THAT WE HAD
ACROSS PLUTO IN MID-JUNE, SO WE'RE ECSTATIC ABOUT THIS.
PRIOR TO THE NEW HORIZONS REVEALING OF HYDRA HERE, WE WERE
COMPLETELY UNCERTAIN ABOUT HOW BIG HYDRA WAS.
IT COULD HAVE BEEN ANYWHERE FROM 20 MILES ACROSS TO ALMOST 100
MILES ACROSS. NEW HORIZONS HAS MADE IT EASY.
JUST COUNT THE NUMBER OF MIX ELS ACROSS.
28 BY 19 MILES, ELONGATED OBJECT, HYDRA IS NOT A PLANET.
ABOUT 30% LARGER IN ONE DIMENSION THAN IN THE OTHER.
THERE'S SOME VERY INTERESTING THINGS, WE SEE SOME VARIATIONS
ACROSS THE SURFACE. IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE,
THIS SHOWS -- WHAT WE DID HERE WAS ACTUALLY SUB SAMPLE THE
IMAGE BY A FACTOR OF FOUR, SO FOUR TIMES SUB SAMPLED TO TAKE
AWAY THAT PIXELATED LOOK AND AS WELL AS CONTOURS SHOWING THE
BRIGHTNESS CHANGES AND WE TOOK CUTS ACROSS TO MEASURE THE --
THAT'S THE APPROXIMATE, YOU KNOW, PLACES WHERE YOU HAVE THE
LONGEST DIMENSION IN THE GREEN AND THE SHORTER DIMENSION IN THE
YELLOW. THE SURFACE OF HYDRA IS
SURPRISINGLY LARGE, YOU KNOW, IT'S ABOUT 45% REFLECTIVITY, SO
ABOUT 45% OF THE SUNLIGHT ONLY GETS REFLECTED AWAY, AND THAT
CAN ONLY MEAN THAT HYDRA'S SURFACE IS PROBABLY COMPOSED
PRIMARILY OF WATER ICE. IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO GET IT THAT
BRIGHT. AND THAT'S COOL.
BETWEEN CHARON AND PLUTO, NICE THING ABOUT WHAT WE HAVE, WE
HAVE COMING UP ACTUALLY MORE OBSERVATIONS OF HYDRA, WHICH
WILL BE AT EVEN HIGHER RESOLUTIONS BY A FACTOR OF TWO
OR THREE BETTER, SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THOSE, BUT
IT'S GREAT. WE'VE ALREADY SEEN HYDRA
REVEALED, AND IT LOOKS VERY INTERESTING.
THANK YOU. >> VERY NICE.
>> WILL GRUNDY LEADS OUR COMPOSITION TEAM AND IS GOING TO
REPORT SOME RESULTS THEY'VE OBTAINED.
>> SO, THE INSTRUMENT THAT WE'RE RELYING ON MOSTLY FOR SURFACE
COMPOSITIONS AND IT'S COMPOSED OF TWO PARTS, THE COLOR CAMERA
AND INFRARED IMAGING SPECTROMETER CALLED LISA.
WE DON'T GET ANY DATA DOWN TODAY FROM EITHER OF THOSE
INSTRUMENTS, AND SO WHAT I'M SHOWING YOU IS DATA THAT CAME
DOWN IN THE FAIL SAFE DATA SET THAT CAME DOWN OVERNIGHT BETWEEN
THE 12TH AND THE 13TH. SO THIS IS A LITTLE EARLIER.
THIS IS A BASE MAP THAT'S JUST SHOWING YOU THE GEOMETRY.
YOU CAN SEE THAT THE HEART REGION IS JUST ROTATING ON, SO
THIS IS A LITTLE WHILE AGO. COULD I HAVE THE NEXT TIME
STAMPED? THIS IS AN OVERLAY OF LISA DATA,
SO WHAT I DID IS EACH OF THOSE LARGE BLOCKY PIXELS ABOUT 150
KILOMETERS ACROSS IS AN INFRARED SP
SPECTRUM, TELLING YOU WHAT THAT PIXEL IS MADE OUT OF.
WE'RE GOING TO GET MUCH HIGHER RESOLUTION DATA OF THIS, BUT
THIS IS WHAT'S IN THE FAIL SAFE DATA SET.
THESE COLORS ARE THREE INFRARED WAVELENGTHS, 256 INFRARED
WAVELENGTHS, SO WE COULD MAKE AN ENORMOUS VARIETY OF COLOR MAPS
TO PULL OUT COMPOSITIONAL INFORMATION.
THIS PARTICULAR ONE IS FOCUSING ON METHANE.
I PUT AN ABSORPTION BAND ABOUT 1.65 MICRONS INTO THE BLUE COLOR
CHANNEL, A CONTINUAL REGION BETWEEN TWO METHANE BANDS INTO
THE GREEN CHANNEL, AND A MUCH STRONGER METHANE BAND INTO THE
RED CHANNEL. AND ALL I'M DOING HERE IS
SHOWING, AGAIN, LOWER RESOLUTION THAN THE COLOR IMAGES YESTERDAY,
THE DIVERSITY OF TERRAIN. WHAT I'M GOING TO DO NOW IS PICK
OUT A SPECIFIC -- A COUPLE OF SPECIFIC REGIONS, ALTHOUGH YOU
CAN SEE THERE'S MANY DIFFERENT REGIONS HERE.
SO IF I COULD GET THE NEXT TIME STAMP, PLEASE.
THESE TWO REGIONS OF INTEREST, ONE IS A 3X3 PIXEL BLOCK, THE
OTHER IS A SQUIGGLY THING IN ONE OF THE DARK REGIONS, SO I'M
CONCENTRATING ON THE POLAR CAP AND ON ONE OF THE DARK REGIONS,
AND IF WE GO TO THE LAST TIME STAMP I HAVE, THESE ARE THE TWO
SPECTRA YOU PULL OUT AND YOU CAN SEE THEY ARE QUITE DIFFERENT
FROM EACH OTHER. THEY BOTH HAVE METHANE, BUT THE
OVERALL SHAPE OF THE SPECTRUM IS VERY DIFFERENT, AND WE CAN
REALLY BE SPENDING YEARS MODELING THESE AND THINKING
ABOUT WHAT THEY TELL US. THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION.
WE ONLY HAVE A SMALL SUBSET OF THE WAVELENGTHS AT THIS POINT,
BECAUSE WE JUST DON'T HAVE THE BANDWIDTH TO GET MORE DOWN.
BUT THIS IS PROVIDING A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE DIFFERENT
REGIONS AND HOW THEY WORK. >> THANK YOU, WILL.
[ APPLAUSE ] YESTERDAY WE SHOWED YOU A
BEAUTIFUL IMAGE OF PLUTO THAT HAS MADE NOT JUST BEFORE THE
CLOSEST APPROACH, AND SENT TO THE GROUND AS PART OF THE FAIL
SAFE DATA SETS. TODAY WE'RE GOING TO SHOW AN
IMAGE OF A SIMILAR RESOLUTION ON THE BIG SATELLITE CHARON AND
DEPUTY PROJECT SCIENTIST IS GOING TO DISCUSS THOSE RESULTS.
>> SO ORIGINALLY I THOUGHT CHARON MIGHT BE AN ANCIENT
TERRAIN COVERED IN CRATERS. MANY PEOPLE ON THE TEAM THOUGHT
THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE CASE, AND SO CHARON JUST BLEW OUR
SOCKS OFF WHEN WE HAD THE NEW IMAGE TODAY.
SO IF WE CAN PULL IT UP SO YOU CAN TAKE A LOOK AT IT.
YEAH. [ APPLAUSE ]
SO WE HAVE BEEN THRILLED ALL MORNING.
THE TEAM HAS JUST BEEN A BUZZ. LOOK AT THIS, LOOK AT THAT.
OH, MY GOD, THAT'S AMAZING. SO I'LL WALK YOU GUYS THROUGH
SOME OF THE THINGS WE'VE SEEN IN THE IMAGE AND TELL YOU WHAT
WE'RE THINKING ABOUT. AND I'M GOING TO START IN THE
NORTH AND KIND OF WORK MY WAY DOWN.
SO YOU'VE SEEN THE DARKISH AREA THAT IS AT THE NORTH POLE, AND
INFORMALLY WE'VE BEEN REFERRING TO THAT AS MORDOR.
SO THAT'S AWESOME. SO MORDOR IS THE DARKISH AREA
NEAR THE POLE, AND YOU CAN SEE THIS IS A NATURAL COLOR IMAGE,
AND SO THE RED AROUND IT, THE RED COLORING THAT WE'VE SEEN,
EXTENDS BEYOND JUST THE DEEPEST DARKEST PART OF THAT POLAR
REGION MORDOR, AND WE THINK THAT THE DARK COLORING COULD PERHAPS
BE A THIN VENEER. YOU CAN SEE LOCATIONS AT THE
NORTH POLE WHERE A CRATER HAS PERHAPS DUG INTO THAT REGION AND
EXCAVATED UNDERNEATH IT. SO YOU CAN SEE THOSE BRIGHTER
REGIONS THAT MAY BE CRATERS, AND SO THAT'S PART OF THE REASON WHY
I SAY WE THINK IT COULD BE A THIN VENEER.
SO LET'S SEE, AND ALSO YOU CAN SEE THAT THAT AREA IS KIND OF A
POLYGON SHAPE AND THE RED COLOR IS MORE DIFFUSED AROUND IT.
MOVING DOWN ACROSS A LITTLE BIT LOWER GOING FROM THE NORTHEAST
TO THE SOUTHWEST IS A SERIES OF TROUGHS AND CLIFFS, AND THAT'S
JUST STRIKING TO ME. IT'S AMAZING TO SEE THIS IMAGE.
THEY EXTEND ABOUT 600 MILES ACROSS THE PLANET, SO THIS IS A
HUGE AREA, AND IT COULD BE THAT IT'S DUE TO INTERNAL PROCESSING,
AND WE'LL BE LOOKING AT THAT IN MORE DETAIL.
JUST BELOW THAT REGION, THE LINE THAT YOU SEE CUTTING ACROSS FROM
THE NORTHEAST TO THE SOUTHWEST, MORE EAST/WEST THAN NORTH/SOUTH,
IS A REGION WHERE IT'S RELATIVELY SMOOTH, THERE'S LESS
CRATERS, SO PERHAPS IT'S BEEN GEOLOGICALLY ACTIVE OR RECENTLY
RESURFACING THAT AREA. SO THAT'S VERY EXCITING TO SEE,
AS WELL. TWO FEATURES THAT I WANT TO GO
BACK UP A LITTLE BIT HIGHER ON THE NEAR THE TOP AT ABOUT THE
2:00 POSITION YOU SEE A CANYON. YOU CAN SEE A LONG LINEAR
FEATURE, AND YOU CAN ACTUALLY AT THE VERY TOP SEE KIND OF A NOTCH
WHERE YOU'RE LOOKING THROUGH TO THE SPACE ON THE OTHER SIDE.
AND THAT CANYON IS REALLY QUITE DEEP.
IT'S ABOUT FOUR TO SIX MILES DEEP.
I FIND THAT FASCINATING. SO IT'S A SMALL WORLD WITH DEEP
CANYONS, TROUGHS, CLIFFS, DARK REGIONS THAT ARE STILL SLIGHTLY
MYSTERIOUS TO US. THERE'S ANOTHER CANYON ON THE
OTHER SIDE, IT MAY BE THE 10:00 OR 11:00 POSITION, AND THAT ONE
IS ABOUT THREE MILES DEEP. THERE IS SO MUCH INTERESTING
SCIENCE IN THIS ONE IMAGE ALONE, AND WE HAVE HIGHER RESOLUTION
IMAGE THAT WE'LL GET THAT WON'T COVER THE WHOLE -- ALL OF
CHARON, BUT IT WILL CUT ACROSS THE NORTHERN PART AND IT WILL
GET SOME OF THE DARK AREA AND THEN SOME OF THE MIDDLE AREA.
AND IT'S GOING TO BE ABOUT FACTOR OF FIVE BETTER IN
RESOLUTION. SO AS WE'VE BEEN SAYING, PLUTO
DID NOT DISAPPOINT. I CAN ADD THAT CHARON DID NOT
DISAPPOINT EITHER. THANK YOU.
[ APPLAUSE ] >> WELL, YESTERDAY WHEN WE
SHOWED THAT BEAUTIFUL IMAGE OF PLUTO, WE NOTED WE WOULD HAVE
IMAGERY WITH TEN TIMES RESOLUTION ON THE GROUND BY
TODAY. IN FACT, JOHN SPENCER'S GOING TO
TELL US ABOUT THE FIRST, JUST THE FIRST FRAME OF THAT MSAIC
THAT'S ON THE GROUND THAT'S ALREADY GIVING US A BIG
SURPRISE. JOHN?
>> THANK YOU, ALLEN. SO, YEAH, WE GOT A WHOLE BUNCH
OF HIGH RESOLUTION OBSERVATIONS NOW SAFELY ONBOARD THE
SPACECRAFT, AND THIS IS JUST A TASTE, ONE SMALL PART OF ONE OF
THOSE OBSERVATIONS. AND IF I CAN HAVE THE FIRST
SLIDE, DON'T GET EXCITED YET, THIS IS WHAT YOU -- THIS IS WHAT
WE SAW YESTERDAY, AND THIS IS SPECTACULAR IMAGE, BUT WE NOW
ARE FOCUSING IN ON SMALL DETAILS ON THIS AMAZING WORLD.
BEFORE I GO TO THAT, I SHOULD SAY THAT WE NOW HAVE AN INFORMAL
NAME FOR THE HEART, THE HEART IS A GOOD NAME, BUT WE WANT TO
HONOR THE DISCOVERER OF PLUTO AND WE ARE CALLING THIS --
[ APPLAUSE ] AND SO IF I CAN HAVE THE SLIDE
BACK, WE ARE NOW GOING TO FOCUS ON A SMALL REGION JUST NEAR THE
BOTTOM OF THIS IMAGE, WHICH IS NEAR THE DAY/NIGHT LINE WHERE WE
HAVE SHADING THAT THROWS THE RELIEF INTO SHARP FOCUS, AND SO
WE'RE GOING TO BE FOCUSING ON AN AREA JUST A LITTLE BIT TO THE
LEFT OF THE BOTTOM OF THE FRAME, AND IF WE CAN NOW RUN THE MOVIE.
OKAY, ZOOMING IN ON THIS AREA. HERE'S THE IMAGE, HERE IT COMES.
[ APPLAUSE ] YEAH, THAT WAS OUR REACTION,
TOO. SO THIS IS A SMALL PART THAT
COVERS THE WHOLE AND REGIONS AROUND IT, COVERING QUITE A
VARIETY OF TERRAIN, BUT THIS IS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT
REALLY CAUGHT OUR ATTENTION. THIS AREA, AS YOU CAN SEE FROM
THE SCALE, IS ABOUT 150 MILES ACROSS.
WE'VE SEEN FEATURES AS SMALL AS HALF A MILE HERE.
YOU COULD SEE THE APL CAMPUS ON THIS KIND OF IMAGE.
THERE ARE MANY STUNNING THINGS, BUT THE MOST STRIKING
GEOLOGICALLY IS WE HAVE NOT YET FOUND A SINGLE IMPACT CRATER ON
THIS IMAGE. THIS MEANS THIS IS A VERY YOUNG
SURFACE, BECAUSE PLUTO HAS BEEN BOMBARDED BY OTHER OBJECTS IN
THE KUIPER BELT AND CRATERS HAPPEN.
SO WE JUST EYEBALLING IT, WE THINK IT HAS TO BE PROBABLY LESS
THAN 100 MILLION YEARS OLD, WHICH IS A SMALL FRACTION OF THE
4.5 BILLION AGE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
RIGHT NOW, WITH NO CRATERS, HOW ACTIVE IT MIGHT BE.
THESE MOUNTAINS HERE THAT WE'RE SEEING ARE QUITE SPECTACULAR.
THESE ARE UP TO 11,000 FEET HIGH, MAYBE HIGHER ONES
ELSEWHERE. NOW WE KNOW THE SURFACE OF PLUTO
IS COVERED IN LOTS OF NITROGEN, ICE, METHANE ICE, CARBON
MONOXIDE ICE. YOU CAN'T MAKE MOUNTAINS OUT OF
THAT STUFF. IT'S TOO SOFT, DOESN'T HAVE THE
STRENGTH TO MAKE MOUNTAINS, SO WE'RE SEEING THE DEAD ROCK OR
BED OF ICE OF PLUTO. WE'RE SEEING THE ICY CRUST OF
PLUTO TEMPERATURES TO HOLD UP BIG MOUNTAINS AND THAT'S WHAT WE
THINK WE ARE SEEING HERE. SO THEN THE NITROGEN AND THE
METHANE ARE JUST A COATING ON TOP OF THE ICY BEDROCK, AND
WE'RE SEEING THAT HERE. NOW, WHAT'S PARTICULARLY
EXCITING TO ME ABOUT THIS IS, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE'VE
SEEN AN ICY WORLD THAT'S NOT ORBITING A GIANT PLANET.
ALL THE OTHERS HAVE BEEN MOONS OF GIANT PLANETS.
AND WE SEE STRANGE GEOLOGICAL FEATURES ON MANY OF THESE MOONS
AND WE USUALLY ATTRIBUTE THIS TO TIDAL HEAPING, DEFAMATION OF
THESE WORLDS BY THE GRAVITY OF THAT GIANT PLANET AND
INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER MOONS. THAT CAN'T HAPPEN ON PLUTO.
THERE'S NO GIANT BODY ON AN ONGOING REGULAR BASIS TO KEEP
THE INTERIOR. CHARON IS JUST TOO SMALL TO DO
THAT. THIS IS TELLING US YOU DO NOT
NEED TIDAL HEATING TO POWER ONGOING GEOLOGICAL ACTIVITY ON
ICY WORLDS. THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT
DISCOVERY WE JUST MADE THIS MORNING.
[ APPLAUSE ] SO I KNOW THIS IS JUST A FIRST
OF THE MANY AMAZING LESSONS WE'RE GOING TO GET FROM PLUTO
AND THERE WILL BE MORE ON FRIDAY.
WE'LL HAVE MORE OF THIS TO SHOW YOU ON FRIDAY, WHICH IS GOING TO
SHOW EQUALLY AMAZING THINGS, I'M SURE, SO STAY TUNED.
>> I'M GOING TO FOLLOW UP ON THIS SAME IMAGE, SO WE CAN LEAVE
IT ON THE SCREEN FOR YOU TO ENJOY.
I'LL TELL YOU ANOTHER COUPLE OF IMPLICATIONS THAT WE'VE REACHED
AS A RESULT OF THIS DISCOVERY. JUST TO EXPAND ON WHAT JOHN LAST
SAID, WHICH WAS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT, WE NOW HAVE AN
ISOLATED SMALL PLANET THAT'S SHOWING ACTIVITY AFTER FOUR AND
A HALF BILLION YEARS. WE THOUGHT THIS MIGHT BE THE
CASE AFTER VOYAGER 2 DISCOVERED THE TRITEN ORBITING NEPTUNE
VIRTUALLY HAD NO IMPACT CRATERS, BUT WE COULDN'T BE SURE BECAUSE
OF THE REASON JOHN SAID, THERE'S ALWAYS AN OUT THAT TIDAL ENERGY
COULD HAVE POWERED ACTIVITY, TIDAL ENERGY DUE TO BREAKING
ORBIT AROUND NEPTUNE COULD HAVE BEEN POWERING THE ACTIVITY ON
TRITEN. NOW WE'VE SETTLED THE FACT THESE
VERY SMALL PLANETS CAN BE VERY ACTIVE AFTER A LONG TIME AND
IT'S GOING TO SEND A LOT OF GEOPHYSICISTS BACK TO THE
DRAWING BOARD TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND HOW EXACTLY YOU DO
THAT. THERE'S ANOTHER IMPLICATION, AND
SOMETIMES THINGS WORK OUT IN SCIENCE.
A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO IN MAY, KELCE SINGER, POST-DOC ON THIS
PROJECT AND MYSELF MADE SOME PREDICTIONS.
TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT, AS JOHN SAID, STEEP TOPOGRAPHY MEANS THE
BEDROCK THAT MAKES THOSE MOUNTAINS MUST BE MADE OF H20,
OF WATER ICE. EVEN BEFORE THE COMPOSITION TEAM
TELLS US THAT THEY FOUND PLACES WHERE THE NITROGEN VENEER HAS
BEEN ERODED OR SCRAPED OFF AND WE SEE WATER ICE ON PLUTO FOR
THE FIRST TIME, WE CAN BE VERY SURE THAT THE WATER IS THERE IN
GREAT ABUNDANCE. AND ACTUALLY MODELS PREDICTED
THAT, BUT IT'S NICE TO SEE IT DRIVEN HOME.
WELL, THE OTHER THING THAT MEANS, AS JOHN SAID, IS THE
VOLATILES ARE JUST A FROSTING, JUST A VENEER ON THE SURFACE.
NOW, THE STICKY POINT IN THIS IS THAT PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERE IS BEING
LOST IN SPACE AT A RATE OF A FEW TIMES TEN TO THE 27TH MOLECULES
PER SECOND, TONS PER SECOND, AND OVER THE AGE OF THE SOLAR
SYSTEM, THAT EQUIVALENT LAYER OF 300 METERS OF NITROGEN AND THREE
KILOMETERS OF NITROGEN. SO IF WE ONLY SEE A VENEER,
WHICH WE NOW KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON, WHAT KELSEY AND I PREDICTED
IN THAT PAPER IS THAT IF WE SAW STEEP TOPOGRAPHY ON PLUTO AND,
THEREFORE, SEEING ONLY A VOLATILE VENEER, THERE MUST BE
INTERNAL ACTIVITY THAT'S DREDGING NITROGEN UP THROUGH
GEYSERS OR SOME OTHER PROCESS THAT'S ACTIVE INTO THE PRESENT
ON THIS PLANET. NOW WE HAVEN'T FOUND GEYSERS,
AND WE HAVEN'T FOUND VOLCANOS, BUT THIS IS VERY STRONG EVIDENCE
THAT WILL SEND US LOOKING AS WE GET MORE AND MORE DATA ACROSS
THE SURFACE OF THE HEMISPHERE TO LOOK FOR EVIDENCE OF EXACTLY
THESE PHENOMENA. INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, THAT PAPER
SUBMITTED IN MAY WAS ACCEPTED TODAY.
HOW'S THAT? [ APPLAUSE ]
AND I SHOULD POINT OUT THAT THE EDITOR OF THE JOURNAL IS ONLY
LEARNING THE RESULTS COMING TO YOU NOW BECAUSE SHE'S WATCHING
IT. ALL RIGHT.
THAT SUMMARIZES THE PRIMARY THINGS THAT WE WANT TO TELL YOU
ABOUT TODAY THAT LANDED JUST THIS MORNING.
EACH OF THESE IMAGES AND DATA SETS HAVE A LOT MORE TO TELL US
ABOUT PLUTO'S HISTORY AND ABOUT SMALL PLANETS AND HOW THEY ARE
FORMED AND EVOLVE. I JUST WANT TO MAKE ONE MORE
COMMENT ABOUT REGIO. YOU KNOW, WE COULD SEE THE HEART
VERY FAR FROM PLUTO. WHEN WE WERE STILL 70 MILLION
MILES OUT AND ONLY BARELY RESOLVING THE PLANET, LITTLE
BETTER THAN HUBBLE COULD DO FROM 3 BILLION MILES AWAY, YOU CAN
SEE THAT SHINING LIKE A BEACON. AND BECAUSE IT'S THE BRIGHTEST
AND MOST PROMINENT FEATURE ON THE PLANET, THAT'S WHY WE WANT
TO INFORMALLY CALL IT REGIO FOR THE DISCOVERER OF PLUTO.
>> LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BEFORE WE TAKE QUESTIONS FOR THE MEDIA
HERE AND ON THE PHONE LINES AND SOCIAL MEDIA, I WANT TO TAKE A
MOMENT TO SAY IT HAS BEEN A REMARKABLE WEEK.
IT HAS BEEN MAGICAL, AND AS WE TRANSITION FROM THE JOHNS
HOPKINS APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY HERE TO NASA
HEADQUARTERS PRESS CONFERENCES, THE WORLD HAS BEEN WATCHING,
DR. JOHN RUMSFELD, FIVE-TIME SPACE SHUTTLE FLOWN ASTRONAUT,
HUBBLE REPAIRMAN, AND HEAD OF SCIENCE FICTION DIRECTORATE OF
MORE THAN 100, ALMOST 100 MISSIONS WITH NEW HORIZONS BEING
ONE OF THEM, HE IS A HOUSEHOLD WORD, HOUSEHOLD NAME IN
HOUSEHOLDS NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY.
ALLEN STERN, YES, YOU ARE, EXCLAMATION POINT, AND THE NEW
HORIZONS TEAM, AND THE JOHNS HOPKINS APPLIED PHYSICS
LABORATORY HOUSEHOLD NAME, SHOW THE WORLD HOW MUCH YOU
APPRECIATE THAT AND WHAT THEY HAVE DONE THIS WEEK WITH A NICE
AND LOUD AS YOU CAN ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THEIR
ACCOMPLISHMENTS. [ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]
[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ] OKAY, NOW, LET'S GET TO THE
QUESTIONS. IF YOU CAN RAISE YOUR HAND HIGH,
WE HAVE A FULL HOUSE. I WANT TO MAKE SURE I CAN GET AS
MANY AS I CAN TO SEE YOU CLEARLY.
LET'S START WITH HERE AND WAIT FOR THE MIC AND GIVE YOUR NAME
AND AFFILIATION, PLEASE. >> THANKS, IRENE WITH REUTERS.
THERE'S A LOT TO DIGEST, BUT -- SO, I GUESS ONE OF THE FIRST
QUESTIONS I HAVE IS FOR CATHY. DOES THE REALIZATION CHARON IS
ACTIVE HAVE ANY IMPLICATION FOR THE ORIGIN THEORY THAT IT WAS A
SPLAT OFF PLUTO AND ANOTHER BODY?
THANKS. >> I DON'T THINK THERE -- I
DON'T KNOW QUITE YET. AT THE TOP OF MY HEAD, IT'S THAT
I WAS THINKING WE WOULD SEE LOTS OF CRATERS AND THAT WOULD TELL
US SOMETHING ABOUT HOW LONG AGO CHARON CREATED AND THAT WOULD
TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT THAT GIANT IMPACT, BUT THAT WE DON'T
SEE THOSE CRATERS MAKES THAT DIFFICULT TO DO.
BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO PUT OUR
THINKING CAPS ON AND UNDERSTAND HOW THIS ALL FITS TOGETHER AND
WHAT IT MEANS. SO THIS IMAGE JUST CAME DOWN
TODAY, AND WE'RE MAKING A LOT OF IT RIGHT NOW, BUT THAT'S MY --
YES. >> BRIEFLY, WE DON'T KNOW HOW
MANY CRATERS, THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN COMPRESSED, WE GET BETTER
IMAGES TOMORROW, SO SPECULATING NOW WOULD BE ESPECIALLY
EMBARRASSING, BECAUSE WE'D BE PROVED WRONG VERY QUICKLY.
BUT IT WOULD HAVE SHOWN TREMENDOUSLY -- THE MATERIALS WE
CREATED TO FORM CHARON PROBABLY WOULD BE PRETTY WARM, BUT THIS
LOOKS LIKE IT'S SOMETHING MUCH MORE RECENT, SO AGAIN WE HAVE A
STORY THAT WE HAVE SOME WAY OF KEEPING HEAT FROM GOING INTO
THESE OBJECTS FOR QUITE A LONG TIME.
>> FREELANCE, THOSE MOUNTAINS LOOK REALLY BIG.
DO YOU HAVE ANY THEORIES OF HOW THEY ORIGINATED?
ARE THEY VOLCANOS OR TECTONIC? THEY DON'T LOOK TECTONIC.
>> WE HAVE NO IDEA AT THIS POINT.
WE MENTIONED THAT THERE ARE ABOUT 11,000 FEET HIGH, SO THEY
LOOK TO BE TENS OF MILES WIDE, SO THEY STAND UP RESPECTIVELY
AGAINST ROCKY MOUNTAINS, SIGNIFICANT MOUNTAIN RANGES HERE
ON THE EARTH, BUT WE WANT TO SEE A LOT MORE ABOUT THE
DISTRIBUTION AND WE ARE GETTING SO MUCH DATA THAT WE'RE RIGHT
NOW STILL SCRATCHING OUR HEADS. >> YEAH, KELLY FROM SKY AND
TELESCOPE. JOHN, JUST TO FOLLOW IRENE'S
QUESTION, THE LARGE GASH ACROSS CHARON, IS THAT IN ANY WAY
RELATED TO A TIDAL D SPINNING, OR IS THIS, PLUS THE SMOOTH
AREAS, TELLING YOU THAT THERE'S SOMETHING CHURNING INSIDE IN A
RELATIVELY RECENT TIME AND CAN YOU PUT A DATE ON THAT YET?
>> WE GOT A COUPLE OF CRATERS AND HAVE TO HAVE BETTER IMAGES
TO DO THAT. WE CERTAINLY KNOW THERE AREN'T
MANY CRATERS, BUT IN TERMS OF THE TIMING OF ALL THIS, WE NEED
THE BETTER IMAGES THAT WE'LL GET VERY SOON.
>> CHIP REID WITH CBS NEWS. DR. STERN, I'D LIKE TO ASK YOU A
QUESTION WITH NO SCIENTIFIC WORDS IN IT.
I INTERVIEWED YOU BEFORE THE FLY BY AND THE ONLY PREDICTION YOU
WOULD MAKE IS YOU WOULD SEE SOMETHING WONDERFUL.
HAS YOUR EXPECTATIONS BEEN MET? AND WHAT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL
THING YOU'VE SEEN SO FAR? >> I'LL GIVE YOU A TECHNICAL
ANSWER, YOU THINK? I THINK THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS
AMAZING, AND MY PREDICTION WRITTEN 20 YEARS AGO ON A LITTLE
SLIP OF PAPER, HELD IN A MANILA ENVELOPE SINCE 1993 WAS PROVEN
RIGHT BY NEW HORIZONS, THE PLUTO SYSTEM IS SOMETHING WONDERFUL.
>> YEAH, QUESTION FOR CATHY. BILL HARVICK, CBS.
THE STRUCTURE OF THAT DARK NORTHERN REGION ON THIS PHOTO IS
SO MUCH MORE DIFFERENT AREAS SEEM TO BE WITHIN THAT AREA.
DOES THIS INFORM ANYTHING ABOUT THE ATMOSPHERE, THE PLUTO
ATMOSPHERE TRANSPORT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT?
HOW THIS WAS DEPOSITED ON THE SURFACE?
THANKS. >> YEAH, SO THERE'S DEFINITELY
DIFFERENT SUB REGIONS INSIDE THAT REGION, AND YOU CAN SEE IT
IN THE PICTURE, IF YOU ZOOM IN YOU CAN SEE IT IN MORE DETAIL,
AS WELL. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT
THEORIES ABOUT WHAT THAT DARK REGION MIGHT BE.
I DON'T KNOW THAT THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE DARKER PARTS
WITHIN IT ACTUALLY IN DETAIL INFORM THAT.
TO REALLY INFORM THAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING THE
INFORMATION BACK FROM THE ROUTE INSTRUMENT.
>> ANOTHER ASPECT A LOT OF US ARE LOOKING FOR IS THE
TOPOGRAPHIC RECONSTRUCTION. IF THAT'S A BASIN, IT WILL BE
PRETTY OBVIOUS, FOR EXAMPLE, AND IF IT'S A GREAT PLATEAU, THAT
WOULD MEAN SOMETHING ELSE. >> YEAH, NICK, WHY MAGAZINE.
WITH REGARDS TO BOTH THE FEATURES ON PLUTO AND CHARON,
WHAT TIDAL ENERGY COULD BE POWERING THE GEOLOGY?
>> WE THINK -- WELL, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF OPTIONS.
ONE WOULD BE THAT WE KNOW THIS RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL INSIDE
CHARON, AS THERE IS INSIDE ANY BODY MADE UP OUT OF AVERAGE
SOLAR SYSTEM STUFF AND RADIOACTIVE PIECES, BUT THE
EARTH IS A LOT BIGGER, SO THIS MAY BE TELLING US THAT EVEN VERY
SMALL BODIES SEE RADIOACTIVE HEAT ENOUGH TO PRODUCE THE
ACTIVITY, BUT MAY BE WAYS TO STORE HEAT FROM ITS FORMATION
FOR A VERY LONG PERIOD OF TIME. MAYBE YOU CAN HAVE AN OCEAN,
WHICH IS VERY FREEZING AND AS IT DOES GRADUALLY FREEZE, THAT
RELEASES HEAT AND MAYBE THAT CAN POWER ACTIVITY.
AND SO WHETHER THIS IS -- SO TIDAL ENERGY IS NOT AT WORK HERE
AND WE KNOW THAT BECAUSE PLUTO AND CHARON ARE IN TIDAL
EQUILIBRIUM. GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT AND IT'S
ALSO SPINNING AT THE SAME RATE THAT PLUTO SPINS, SO THERE'S NO
SIGNIFICANT EXCHANGE OF TIDAL ENERGY ANYMORE.
THAT PROCESS, ACCORDING TO MODELS, NUMERICAL MODELS, TOOK
PLACE PRETTY QUICKLY AFTER THE GIANT IMPACT, VERY SMALL
FRACTION OF THE AGE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM, SO THAT MUST HAVE ALL
BEEN A LONG TIME AGO AND IT'S NOT CONTRIBUTING TO THE ENERGY
BUDGET CURRENTLY. WE HAVE TO GET A LITTLE MORE
CLEVER. >> OKAY, WE'RE GOING TO TAKE
THREE QUESTIONS, PLEASE, THEN WE'RE GOING TO GO TO THE PHONE
LINES, TAKE A COUPLE QUESTIONS FROM SOCIAL MEDIA, THEN COME
BACK HERE. ONE.
>> ASTRO MAGAZINE. I'M ONE OF THE PEOPLE IN THE
ROOM THAT CAN REMEMBER WHEN THE FIRST PICTURES CAME BACK FROM
MARINER 4, AND AT THAT TIME YOU COULD HEAR THE BALLOONS POPPING,
HOLY MACKEREL, IT'S NOT EARTH-LIKE AT ALL, THERE'S
CRATERS, ATMOSPHERE IS TEN TIMES THINNER THAN WE THOUGHT IT WAS.
TODAY I HEAR A LOT OF EXCITEMENT, BUT NO BALLOONS
POPPING. IT SEEMS PLUTO IS PRETTY MUCH
THE KIND OF WORLD YOU THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO COMMENT ON THAT AND IS THAT BECAUSE WE'RE
FURTHER IN OUR KNOWLEDGE TODAY? >> I'M COMPLETELY SURPRISED AND
WOULD DISAGREE WITH THE ASSERTION.
IN MY CASE, I CERTAINLY DIDN'T EXPECT CHARON TO SHOW NEARLY THE
DEGREE OF DIFFERENT TERRAINS, THE VARIETY, OR THE YOUTHFUL
SURFACE IT DOES SHOW US. THAT'S A COMPLETE SURPRISE,
THAT'S A BALLOON POPPING. IN ADDITION, I THINK JUST IN ONE
IMAGE OF ABOUT 1% OF THE SURFACE OF PLUTO THE PLANET AND FINDING
MOUNTAIN RANGES LIKE THE ROCKIES IS A BALLOON POPPING.
NOW, MY COLLEAGUES MIGHT DISAGREE WITH ME.
WHY DON'T WE ASK THEM. >> WHO WOULD HAVE SUPPOSED THERE
WERE ICE MOUNTAINS, YOU KNOW? YOU KNOW, THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW,
IT'S BLOWING MY MIND. WE HAVE HAD SUCH A HARD TIME
FINDING ANY EVIDENCE FOR WATER ICE ON THE SURFACE OF PLUTO.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SOME DATA THAT'S GOING TO, YOU KNOW,
REALLY REVEAL THAT FOR SURE, BUT THAT'S THE ONLY WAY TO GET THESE
HUGE MOUNTAINS. AND THAT'S A BIG SURPRISE, I
THINK. >> I CAN SPEAK TO THAT, AS WELL.
THAT FALSE COLOR IMAGE YESTERDAY THAT SHOWED AN AMAZING DIVERSITY
OF COMPOSITIONAL UNITS ON SURFACE AND THE PHOTOGRAPHS SHOW
AN AMAZING DIVERSITY OF GEOMORPHOLOGY SHOW PROCESSES
SHAPING THE SURFACE, AND I THINK ALL OF US THOUGHT IT WAS
PROBABLY A FEW PROCESSES AT WORK, AND NOW IT LOOKS LIKE THIS
IS A MUCH MORE COMPLICATED SYSTEM, WHERE THE INTERPLAY OF
PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY AND THERMAL DYNAMICS IS LEADING TO
JUST A HUGE PALLET OF PROCESSES WORKING IN DIFFERENT WAYS ON
DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE SURFACE, AND THAT, TO ME, IS AMAZING.
THIS IS GOING TO KEEP US BUSY FOR A LONG TIME TO COME.
>> I WOULD NEVER HAVE BELIEVED THE FIRST CLOSE-UP PICTURE OF
PLUTO WOULDN'T HAVE A SINGLE IMPACT CRATER ON IT.
ASTONISHING. [ APPLAUSE ]
>> EMILY FROM THE PLANETARY SOCIETY.
I'M WONDERING IF WILL GRUNDY COULD READ THE SPECTRA FOR US,
AND IF IT'S TIME FOR US TO CONSIDER MAYBE THE
CHARON-FORMING IMPACT COULD HAVE HAPPENED MORE RECENTLY AND THAT
MIGHT HAVE EXPLAINED THE RECENT LOOKING GEOLOGY.
>> I THINK ONE MORE TIME STAMP PAST THIS ONE.
RIGHT, SO THESE SPECTRA ARE BOTH METHANE ICE SPECTRA, REALLY.
ALL OF THOSE DIPS THAT YOU SEE ARE METHANE ICE.
THE OTHER FEATURES ARE MUCH MORE SUBTLE AND THEY ARE GOING TO
REQUIRE SOME MODELING TO PULL THEM OUT, BUT JUST TO DRAW YOUR
EYES TO THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE OF IT, YOU SEE HOW THE CYAN OR BLUE
COLORED ONE GOES DOWN TO ALMOST ZERO AND THE RED ALMOST GOES
DOWN TO ZERO, THAT TELLS ME THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE PRESENT
IN THE RED TERRAIN THAT SCATTERS LIGHT, WHERE METHANE ABSORBS
QUITE STRONGLY. THERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF THE THINGS
YOU CAN DO. GET AHOLD OF ME LATER AND WE CAN
CHAT AS LONG AS YOU LIKE ABOUT THIS STUFF.
DON'T WANT TO PUT PEOPLE TO SLEEP, BUT THERE'S A HUGE AMOUNT
OF INFORMATION IN THESE DATA. >> LET'S GO TO THE PHONE LINES.
I BELIEVE WE HAVE A QUESTION ON THE PHONE LINES.
DO WE HAVE THE QUESTION? >> CAN YOU HEAR ME?
>> I CAN HEAR YOU NOW. >> NASAWATCH.COM.
THE QUESTION I HAVE, I HOPED TO ASK LAST NIGHT, THE ANSWER LINE
DIDN'T WORK, BUT I'M GLAD IT DIDN'T, I WAS LOOKING AT THE
SPECTRA IMAGE JUST REFERENCED. A QUESTION FOR ALLEN STERN, WHAT
SPECIFICITY ARE YOU GOING TO GET FROM THIS ANALYSIS AS YOU GO ON
AND HOW WILL YOU BE ABLE TO MAP IT UP AGAINST THE TERRAIN?
YOU TALKED ABOUT A THIN VENEER OF THIS STUFF, SOME OF THIS WAS
TALKING ABOUT WASTE WHEN I WAS TEACHING CHEMISTRY.
ARE YOU GOING TO GET DOWN TO THE POINT OF MORE THAN JUST METHANE,
BUT SPECIFIC ORGANIC CHEMICALS? >> I HAD A HARD TIME --
>> CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE LOUDER AND REPEAT?
WE APOLOGIZE, REPEAT THE QUESTION ONE LAST TIME.
>> HOW MUCH SPECIFICITY WILL YOU HAVE WITH THE SPECTROMETER THAT
YOU CAN SEE AGAINST THESE FEATURES?
>> I THINK THE QUESTION IS ABOUT HOW WILL WE BE ABLE TO DETERMINE
THE COMPOSITION OF THE SURFACE AND SPOT OTHER ORGANICS ON THE
SURFACE. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE VERY HIGH
RESOLUTION COMPARED TO WHAT WE'RE SHOWING YOU HERE, ABOUT
100 TIMES, NOT QUITE 100 TIMES, BUT SPATIALLY WE'RE GOING TO
HAVE ROUGHLY THE 5 TO 10 KILOMETER RANGE, SO EVERY PIXEL
THAT WE'LL SHOW YOU, WE CAN LOOK AT THINGS TEN TIMES SMALLER, 1%
SMALLER BY AREA, WHICH MEANS WE DON'T AVERAGE OVER LARGE BLOCKS
OF TERRAIN, BUT INSTEAD CAN REALLY SEE THE DETAILS, THE
INTERFACES BETWEEN UNITS, LOOKING LIKE ANY CRATERS WE FIND
THAT ARE WINDOWS INTO THE INTERIOR.
I'LL LET WILL SPEAK TO THE RANGE OF ORGANICS THAT WE CAN FIND ON
THE SURFACE, BECAUSE THAT'S HIS AREA.
>> RIGHT. SO THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT
CHEMICALS THAT HAVE DIAGNOSTIC FEATURES IN THIS WAVELENGTH
RANGE AND THAT'S WHY WE PICK THIS WAVELENGTH RANGE, BUT THERE
ARE ALSO SUBSTANCES THAT HAVE NO VISIBLE ABSORPTIONS.
A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THAT IS ARARGAN, WHICH IS OF THAT SURFACE
ENVIRONMENT AND WE CAN'T DETECT IT BECAUSE IT DOESN'T HAVE ANY
VIBRATIONS IN OUR WAVELENGTH REGION.
YOU'LL SEE IT IF IT'S IN THE ATMOSPHERE, BUT ON THE SURFACE
WE'RE BLIND TO IT. YOU KNOW, IT'S A MIXED BAG.
WE'LL BE ABLE TO LEARN A LOT MORE THAN WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT IT
TODAY. >> CAN I ADD TO THAT?
>> MAYBE WILL COULD GIVE A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES OF
HYDROCARBON. >> SURE, SURE, FOR INSTANCE,
THINGS LIKE CARBON CHAIN WITH HYDROGEN STUCK TO IT, WE COULD
DISTINGUISH BETWEEN METHANE, ETHANE, PROPANE, AND SO ON,
HYDROCARBONS, SOME OF THEM HAVE VERY DISTINCTIVE FEATURES.
THERE'S A WIDE RANGE OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS THAT WE CAN HOPE TO
DETECT THAT COULD QUITE LIKELY BE PRODUCED IN THAT SURFACE
CHEMISTRY. >> I WAS JUST GOING TO ADD THAT
THERE'S OTHER ICES ALSO THAT HAVE SPECTRAL FEATURES IN THIS
REGION. THERE'S WATER ICE, CARR BONN
MONOXIDE ICE, THIS IS A DIAGNOSTIC REGION, AND YOU CAN
SEE SLOPES ACROSS THE SPECTRUM, SO EVEN SOME THINGS THAT DON'T
HAVE SHARP FEATURES YOU CAN IDENTIFY THE POSSIBILITY THAT
THEY ARE THERE BY THE SLOPES IN THE INFRARED SPECTRA.
>> OKAY. LET'S SEE WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE
SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD. I KNOW IT IS ABUZZ, SO WE'RE
GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO EMILY. >> I'M EMILY FROM NASA
HEADQUARTERS. WE DO HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ON
SOCIAL. THE FIRST ONE'S FROM DAVID AND
HE ASKS, WHAT, IF ANYTHING, CAN WE LEARN ABOUT OUR OWN PLANET
FROM THIS INFORMATION NEW HORIZONS HAS PROVIDED?
>> WELL, WE EXPECT THAT THE DATA SET THAT WE'LL RETURN TEACHES US
ABOUT THE EARTH, MOON, AND SYSTEM.
WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO DOING THAT.
WE'RE ALSO GOING TO GET ATMOSPHERIC DATA SETS AND STUDY
PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERE. IN FACT, THE INSTRUMENT COMBINED
WITH THE ALICE INSTRUMENT SHOULD GIVE US POWERFUL CONSTRAINTS ON
THAT ESCAPE RATE. INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, PLUTO'S
ATMOSPHERE IS ESCAPING THROUGH A PROCESS WITH A BIG FANCY NAME
THAT YOU JUST DON'T FIND ON ANY OF THE PLANETS IN THE SOLAR
SYSTEM, EXCEPT PLUTO. THE MOST INTERESTING THING ABOUT
THAT, THE SAME PROCESS DID OPERATE IN THE EARLY ATMOSPHERES
OF A NUMBER OF PLANETS, INCLUDING THE EARTH.
IN FACT, THE EARTH IS BELIEVED TO HAVE LOST ITS ORIGINAL
POISONOUS HYDROGEN/HELIUM ENVELOPE DUE TO ESCAPE, SO WE'VE
NEVER BEEN ABLE TO DISCOVER THIS ON A PLANETARY SCALE YET.
BY GOING TO PLUTO AND OBSERVING THAT PROCESS AND DETERMINING
EXACTLY HOW FAST THE ATMOSPHERE IS ESCAPING AND KNOWING THE
INPUT CONDITIONS, THE SOLAR FLUX AT THE TIME WE MADE THE FLY BY,
FOR EXAMPLE, AND THE HEMISPHERE RADIATION ENVIRONMENT IN THE
CLOUDS, WILL GIVE US A GOOD HANDLE FOR THE FIRST TIME ON THE
NUMERICAL MODELS THAT ARE USED TO UNDERSTAND THE EARLY EARTH
AND THE LOSS OF OUR ATMOSPHERE. THIS ALSO HAS SOME APPLICATIONS
TO THE LOSS OF WATER FROM EARLY MARS.
SO WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO LEARNING THINGS FROM THE
PLUTO SYSTEM THAT WILL ULTIMATELY TRANSLATE INTO A
BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF OTHER PLANETS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
>> OKAY, EMILY, WE'RE GOING TO TAKE TWO MORE QUESTIONS.
I'M GOING TO ASK THE MIC HANDLER TO HELP ME HERE.
I KNOW SOME FOLKS HAVE BEEN RAISING HANDS A LONG TIME, I
WANT TO GET TO YOU. IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE HAS BEEN
RAISING, GIVE THEM THE MIC, CUE THEM UP, BUT LET'S GO BACK TO
SOCIAL MEDIA. TWO MORE QUESTIONS, THEN WE'RE
GOING TO COME BACK HERE. >> SURE.
THIS ONE'S FROM HAROLD. HE'S ASKING HOW LARGE A
PERCENTAGE OF PLUTO WILL BE VIEWED BY NEW HORIZONS AND WILL
THERE BE ANY BLIND SPOTS. >> SURE, I'M HAPPY TO TAKE THAT.
SO WE'RE GOING TO COVER THE ENTIRE ILLUMINATED PART OF
PLUTO. ALL THE PARTS THAT ROTATE INTO
VIEW. IT TAKES 6.4 DAYS FOR PLUTO TO
ROTATE, SO WE'LL HAVE SOME AT HIGHER RESOLUTION THAN OTHERS.
BUT THERE'S JUST LIKE ON EARTH WHEN YOU HAVE THE WINTER POLE
AND IT'S DARK THERE, THE SUN DOESN'T RISE, THERE'S SOMETHING
SIMILAR ON PLUTO SO THAT WINTER PULL OF PLUTO, WE'RE GOING TO
MAKE A SPECIAL OBSERVATION TO TRY AND OBSERVE THAT.
AND WE'RE GOING TO USE THE LIGHT THAT GOES FROM THE SUN, THAT
REFLECTS OFF OF PLUTO'S LARGE MOON CHARON, AND THEN REFLECTS
TO PLUTO AND WE'RE GOING TO USE CHARON SHINE TO LOOK AT THE
WINTER POLE OF PLUTO, SO WE'LL BE SEEING ALL OF IT, BUT AT
DIFFERENT RESOLUTIONS. >> JUST NOT TO GET YOUR HOPES UP
TOO MUCH ON THE CHARON SHINE, THIS IS A VERY DIFFICULT
OBSERVATION, CHARON SHINE IS INCREDIBLY FEEBLE AND WE'LL DO
THE BEST TO PULL DETAIL OUT OF THOSE IMAGES.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING BACK TOWARDS THE SUN WITH THE SUN IN OUR
EYES, JUST TO MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT, SO WE'RE GOING TO
HAVE FUN, BUT CERTAINLY DO OUR BEST.
>> YES, THANK YOU. >> ONE MORE?
>> SURE. THIS QUESTION'S FROM WILL.
HOW DO YOU THINK PLUTO HAS BEEN ABLE TO MAINTAIN ITS OWN
GEOACTIVITY FOR SO LONG? >> THERE'S A GREAT QUESTION.
>> RIGHT. THE -- CERTAINLY, IF YOU HAVE
ROCKS IN ITS INTERIOR TO MAKE ITS DENSITY COME OUTRIGHT, WATER
ICE ISN'T DENSE ENOUGH. SILICAT ROCKS COME WITH BOREUM,
URANIUM THAT GIVE OFF HEAT, IT'S ADK.
THE NAIVE EXPECTATION OR NAIVE NOW IN HINDSIGHT WAS THAT A
WORLD THIS SIZE JUST WOULDN'T GET ENOUGH HEAT TO REALLY DRIVE
THIS KIND OF ACTIVITY, AND NOW WE SEE THAT IT CAN.
OR, LIKE JOHN SAID, THERE'S A LOT OF HEAT IN A INTERNAL OCEAN,
AND AS THE INTERNAL OCEAN FREEZES, THAT LIBERATES THE
LATENT HEAT, AND ALSO WILL TEND TO MAKE THE WORLD EXPAND IN
SIZE, BECAUSE ICE IS LARGER THAN LIQUID, DEPENDING ON WHICH PHASE
OF ICE YOU MAKE. WHICH COULD ALSO PRODUCE
TECTONIC FEATURES. >> I WANT TO THANK THE WORLD ON
SOCIAL MEDIA SENDING IN YOUR QUESTIONS AT #ASKNASA, AND, OF
COURSE, FOLLOWING THE CONVERSATION THROUGHOUT THE
WORLD ON #PLUTOFLYBY. OKAY, MY PANELISTS, HELP ME OUT.
NAME AND AFFILIATION, GO. >> CORY POWELL WITH DISCOVER
MAGAZINE. THE QUESTION ABOUT THE DIVERSITY
OF PROCESSES THAT YOU'RE SEEING IN THIS NEW CLOSE-UP PLUTO
IMAGE, I'M WONDERING IF YOU COULD WALK US THROUGH THE IMAGE
A LITTLE BIT. I REALIZE YOU'RE NOT AT THE
STAGE WHERE YOU CAN PROVIDE ANSWERS, BUT I'M CURIOUS ABOUT
THE KINDS OF QUESTIONS YOU SEE POSED BY THE STRANGE SORT OF
HILLY TERRAIN, SOMETHING THAT LOOKS LIKE A FAULT.
I'D BE CURIOUS WHAT ARE THE THINGS YOU'RE GOING TO BE
INVESTIGATING THERE, WHAT ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT IT RAISES?
>> THOSE ARE GOOD ONES. >> YOU DID A VERY NICE JOB.
>> WE HAVE THE SURFACE THAT LOOKS LIKE FAULT, AND, YEAH,
THAT'S KIND OF THE STAGE WE'RE AT.
THAT TERRAIN DOWN TOWARDS THE LOWER RIGHT LOOKS REALLY
STRANGE. AND IT'S LIKE PILES OF STUFF
WITH GROOVES ON IT. TO BE TECHNICAL.
AND THEN WE HAVE SMOOTH PLAINS FILLING IN SOME OF THE LOW
SPOTS. THAT WE CAN SAY MORE ABOUT ON
FRIDAY, I THINK. THIS BEING EROSION THAT'S BEEN
BUILDING, WHATEVER PRODUCES, LUMPY TERRAIN WITH GROOVES ON
IT, AND IT'S BAFFLING. IT'S BAFFLING IN A VERY
INTERESTING AND WONDERFUL WAY. AND I HOPE THAT WHEN WE GET MORE
CONTEXT, WE CAN FILL IN HOW THIS FITS IN WITH THE REST OF THE
GEOLOGY AND START TO MAKE SOME SENSE.
WE CAN ONLY HOPE. >> I'M ALLEN BOYLE WITH NBC
NEWS, AND I WANTED TO RETURN TO THE ICE MOUNTAINS, AS WELL.
IS THAT ACTUALLY IN THE REGIONAL AND DO YOU SEE ANY PATTERN
FOLLOWING UP ON WHAT CORY WAS ASKING ABOUT DO YOU SEE A
PATTERN THAT MIGHT SUGGEST THE FORMATION OF THOSE MOUNTAINS?
ARE THEY BEING PUSHED UP LIKE RIDGES?
ALLEN MENTIONED THE ROCKIES. IS THERE A SIMILAR PROCESS GOING
ON HERE? >> THANK YOU.
>> YEAH, WE -- THIS IS RIGHT AT THE BASE OF THE HEART, IF YOU
LIKE, SORT OF WHERE IT WRAPS AROUND THE EDGE OF THE WHALE,
INFORMALLY, BUT IT'S THE BASE OF THE HEART, SO THAT'S WHERE THIS
IS. AND AGAIN IN TERMS OF
DISTRIBUTION OF THE MOUNTAINS, WE'LL JUST HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE
WHEN WE GET THE BIGGER PICTURE VIEW OF MORE OF THE SURFACES AND
MAKES MORE SENSE. >> SOME OF THE FEATURES ON THAT
VERY GOOD RESOLUTION SCALE ARE -- MAYBE YOU'RE WAITING FOR
THE OTHER DIRECTION IMAGE, BUT COULD THEY POSSIBLY BE SIMILAR
TO LAVA TUBES? >> WE -- I DON'T SEE ANYTHING
THAT LEAPS OUT TO LOOKING LIKE A LAVA TUBE.
SOME OF THAT SURFACE LOOKS LIKE A LAVA FLOW, BUT ON A VASTLY
LARGER SCALE, SO I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE THE SURFACE OF A
LAVA FLOW, BUT MAYBE THE PROCESS HAPPENING ON A BIGGER SCALE.
AND, YEAH, THAT'S -- MAYBE I SHOULD COMMENT, YEAH, THERE ARE
A LOT OF LINEAR PARALLEL FEATURES, AS YOU SAY, AND MAYBE
IT'S FORMING ON THE SURFACE OF SOME STRANGE KIND OF EROSION,
BUT YEAH, WE'LL HAVE FUN FIGURING IT OUT.
I SHOULD SAY, I'M NOT SURE THIS EXACT AREA IS COVERED IN HIGH
RESOLUTION, BUT IT PROBABLY IS, BUT I THINK WE'LL HAVE EVEN MORE
DETAILED IMAGES OF THIS AREA AND CERTAINLY OTHER AREAS NEARBY
WHEN ALL THE DATA COMES DOWN. >> LEO WITH IRISH TELEVISION.
YOUR FINDINGS ON INTERNAL HEATING TODAY, ARE THEY A GAME
CHANGER FOR THE WAY THAT WE SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT OTHER
OBJECTS IN THE KUIPER BELT? I'M THINKING IN PARTICULAR, IF I
COULD TAKE IT TO THE EXTREME, DOES IT RAISE THE PROSPECTS OF
WATER WORLDS OUT THERE AND DOES IT INCREASE THE EXCITEMENT ABOUT
WHAT WE MIGHT SEE OUT THERE? >> I'LL TAKE A CRACK AT IT,
SURE. YEAH, I THINK IT COULD BE A GAME
CHANGER. WE DON'T KNOW -- CHARON IS THE
SIZE OF SOME OF THE SMALLER WORLDS IN THE KUIPER BELT, AND
WE DON'T KNOW HOW RECENTLY ACTIVE ON CHARON, AND AGAIN,
UNTIL WE CAN START COUNTING THE CRATERS, BUT IT'S CLEARLY
HAPPENING GEOLOGICALLY FAIRLY RECENTLY AND I THINK WE TENDED
TO THINK OF THESE MID SIZE WORLD KIND OF OBJECTS AS PROBABLY
CANDY COATED LUMPS OF ICE AND THIS MEANS THEY COULD BE EQUALLY
DIVERSE AND EQUALLY AMAZING IF WE EVER GET A SPACECRAFT OUT
THERE TO SEE THEM CLOSE UP. >> OKAY, WE'RE COMING UP AT THE
TOP OF THE HOUR, WE GOT A CLUSTER HERE, GOING TO HAVE TO
SHUT THIS DOWN IN A MOMENT. GO AHEAD.
>> JOSH LOCAL, NEW SCIENTIST. I NOTICED TODAY WE HAVEN'T
TALKED ABOUT THE FAMILIAR TOUCH STONES, ANALOGOUS TO PLUTO AND
CHARON, IS THAT BECAUSE THEY DON'T LOOK SIMILAR ENOUGH?
HOW MUCH CAN WE USE WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW FROM EXPLORATION TO
UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON? >> WELL, WE'RE STARTING TO MAKE
THOSE ANALYSIS, SO THE FIRST THING, DOESN'T LOOK LIKE TRY
TRIDENT, THE MOST SIMILAR OBJECT IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM TO PLUTO.
TRIDENT DOESN'T HAVE THIS KIND OF RUGGED TERRAIN.
IT HAS A LOT OF STRANGE MATERIALS, BUT DOESN'T LOOK AT
ALL LIKE THIS. SOMETHING VERY DIFFERENT ABOUT
PLUTO IN GEOLOGY, AND CHARON LOOKS A LITTLE BIT LIKE SOME OF
THE MOONS OF URANUS, I WOULD SAY, WHERE WE HAVE INVOKED MAYBE
TIDAL HEATING AS AN EXPLANATION FROM TIDAL HEATING FROM URANUS
ITSELF. AS I SAID, NOW WE'RE SEEING THAT
WE CAN GET -- ACTIVITY ON WALLS THAT DO NOT HAVE TIDAL HEATING,
THEN WE'LL HAVE TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT IT.
>> I CAN ADD TO THAT, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE REASON YOU'RE NOT
HEARING US SAY PLUTO LOOKS LIKE THIS WORLD OR THAT WORLD IS
BECAUSE PLUTO HAS SO MUCH DIVERSITY.
WE'RE SEEING SO MANY DIFFERENT FEATURES.
LIKE WILL SAID, THERE'S LOTS OF DIFFERENT PROCESSES GOING ON
HERE, SO WE'LL PROBABLY END UP PULLING IT APART AND SAY THIS
PART RESEMBLES THAT ON THIS WORLD.
BUT THERE'S NOTHING LIKE IT. >> OKAY.
SO WE'RE GOING TO TAKE TWO QUICK QUESTIONS, THEN UNFORTUNATELY
I'M GOING TO HAVE TO END. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, WE'LL SEE
IF WE CAN FOLLOW THOSE UP AT A LATER TIME.
GO AHEAD. >> THANK YOU, SPACE.COM, AND I
THINK THIS QUESTION MAY BE FOR ALLEN OR WHOEVER YOU WANT TO
DELEGATE TO, BUT YOU'VE SHOWN US A FIRST LOOK AT HYDRA, ACTIVITY
ON CHARON, ICE AT 11,000 FEET TALL ON PLUTO, AND I'M JUST
WONDERING TODAY IN THE MISSION OPERATIONS ROOM, HOW THAT FEELS
TO SEE IT COME DOWN, TO OPEN IT AND KNOW THAT YESTERDAY YOU HAD
ONE PHOTO, NOW YOU HAVE TEN TIMES BETTER AND TOMORROW IT'S
GOING TO GET EVEN BETTER. >> IT FEELS TERRIBLE.
[ LAUGHTER ] YEAH, YEAH, THERE'S A LOT OF
DEPRESSION IN THE SCIENCE FIELD. WE DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING.
NO, HONESTLY, YOU KNOW, I SAID A FEW DAYS BEFORE, THERE WERE A
LOT OF SMILES, WE CAN FEEL THE MOMENTUM, WE'RE FINALLY GETTING
AT THE STAGE WHERE WE CAN SEE GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY ON THE
SURFACE, BUT NOW, YOU KNOW, I THINK I COULD CHARACTERIZE THE
FOUR INDIVIDUAL ROOMS WHERE PEOPLE ARE AT WORK AS SOMETHING
CLOSE TO BEDLAM. PARTICULARLY TODAY, TODAY IS
PROBABLY OUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE. FIRST, WE'RE DEFINITELY LIVING
ON LESS SLEEP THAN NORMAL, BUT THE IMAGERY CAME DOWN, BUT JUST
BEFORE 6:00 A.M., AND THIS BEGAN, YOU KNOW, NINE HOURS
LATER. WE HAD MORE DATA COMING DOWN
TODAY, BUT THE NEXT TIME WE TALK TO YOU IS IN 48 HOURS, SO MANY
TIMES AS LONG TO WORK WITH THE DATA AND DISCUSS WHAT WE THINK
THE RESULTS ARE. THEN THE NEXT TIME WE COME BACK
AND TALK TO YOU WILL BE YET A WEEK LATER STILL.
SO THIS IS REALLY, YOU KNOW, HOT OFF THE PRESS.
BUT I DON'T THINK -- ASKED MY COLLEAGUES TO PITCH IN, I DON'T
THINK ANY ONE OF US COULD HAVE IMAGINED THAT IT WAS THIS GOOD
OF A TOY STORE. >> THIS IS WHAT WE CAME FOR.
>> THIS EXCEEDS WHAT WE CAME FOR.
[ APPLAUSE ] >> OKAY, FRANK, TAKE US HOME.
>> FRANK, AVIATION WEEK. LAST WEEK I BELIEVE YOU WERE
SURPRISED BY THE DIFFERENCE IN COLOR BETWEEN CHARON AND PLUTO.
HAVE YOU SEEN ANYTHING SINCE YESTERDAY THAT IS BEGINNING TO
INFORM THAT QUESTION? >> I CAN SPEAK FOR MYSELF, I
DON'T THINK SO YET, BUT ONE OF THE INTERESTING THINGS THAT I
THINK I'LL JUST REMARK ON IS THE IMAGE THAT WE SHOWED YESTERDAY
SHOWING VERY STRONG COLOR CONTRAST ON PLUTO'S SURFACE.
I WOULD BE SURPRISED IF THERE ARE SOME UNITS THAT MIGHT BE
SHARING LIGHT. WE'LL HAVE TO SEE WHEN WE GET
THE HIGHER RESOLUTION AND MORE GLOBAL COLOR DATA SETS.
BUT SOMETHING IS MAKING THESE TWO WORLDS VERY, VERY DIFFERENT.
ONE HAS AN ATMOSPHERE, REAT A TIMES ON SURFACE, THE OTHER DOES
NOT. ONE IS COVERED IN WATER ICE, THE
OTHER IS COVERED IN VOLATILES. IT'S A PUZZLE.
IT'S A REAL PUZZLE. >> OKAY.
WE'RE GOING TO END HERE. AS YOU'VE HEARD, THIS IS JUST
THE BEGINNING. THE STORY IS FAR, FAR FROM BEING
OVER. WE WILL TRANSITION TO THE NEXT
NEWS CONFERENCE AT NASA HEADQUARTERS AT 1:00 P.M.
EASTERN ON FRIDAY. THERE WILL BE MORE INFORMATION
GOING OUT TOMORROW. FOLLOW THE MISSION AND THE
INCREDIBLE IMAGES AND INFORMATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION, FOLLOW THE CONVERSATION, #PLUTOFLYBY
AND SEND THOSE QUESTIONS IN AT #ASKNASA, AND, OF COURSE, ALL
OF THIS INFORMATION IS ONLINE AT NASA.GOV/NEWHORIZONS.
IT'S BEEN A REMARKABLE WEEK. THE NASA NEW HORIZONS AND
APPLIED PHYSICS LAB AND ALL THE PARTNERS ON THIS MISSION ARE
TRULY HOUSEHOLD NAMES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US HERE AT THE APPLIED PHYSICS LAB.
WE'LL SEE YOU AT NASA HEADQUARTERS.
