211 Exploring the Third Zone: The Geology of Pluto, Charon, and the Kuiper Belt

Tuesday, 27 September 2016
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Mile High Ballroom 2A/3A

NEW HORIZONS AT PLUTO: OVERVIEW OF RESULTS AND PLANS FOR EXPLORATION AFTER THE PLUTO SYSTEM

Paper number: 211-2
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 1:35 PM – 1:55 PM

Authors

  • S. Alan Stern Presenting Author
    Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO

Abstract

This review will examine a diversity of geological, compositional, atmospheric, and other results obtained about Pluto, Charon and their small moons by NASA’s New Horizons mission in the first exploration of this planet, made in 2015. The New Horizons Kuiper Belt Extended Mission (KEM) was recently approved by NASA. During KEM numerous Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) and heliospheric observations are planned, including the very close flyby of the primitive KBO 2014 MU69 on 1 January 2019. We also summarize these and other plans for New Horizons going forward.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 48, No. 7

doi: 10.1130/abs/2016AM-280038

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