Pluto in a Minute: What Is New Horizons Going to Do After Pluto?

New Horizons spent nine years again to Pluto only to leave the system after a few hours so what's next this is Pluto in a minute the New Horizons mission was born from a 2003 decadal survey that is a survey what should be done in planetary science for the coming ten years in that decade old survey the National Academy of Sciences ranked exploring Pluto and other Kuiper belt objects as a top priority because the Kuiper belt and the bodies that lie within that region are thought to be the most primitive untouched material in our solar system exploring the Kuiper belt is the best way to address the question of whether objects in that region brought in volatiles and water into the inner solar system to planets like Earth given its current trajectory there are two possible Kuiper belt objects New Horizons can visit in the fall of 2015 the team will pick one and then burn the engines to set it on a course to visit that object the goal is to just do another flyby sometime around 2018 2019 but exploring a second Kuiper belt object is contingent on a mission extension in 2016 the new horizons team will prepare a proposal for the six end of mission for NASA and if it is accepted that mission will begin in 2017 but for the moment Pluto is still taking center stage with a lot more data coming down from the spacecraft in the weeks and months ahead so for more on Pluto be sure to check out the new horizons web sites join the conversation online with the hashtag of Pluto flyby and be sure to come back here for more Pluto in a minute