C.T. Russell 
New Horizons 
Reconnaissance of the Pluto-Charon System and the Kuiper Belt

New Horizons: Reconnaissance of the Pluto–Charon System and the Kuiper Belt C. T. Russell Originally published in the journal Space Science Reviews, Volume 140, Nos 1–4, 1–2. DOI: 10. 1007/s11214-008-9450-0 © Springer Science+Business Media B. V. 2008 Exploration is mankind’s imperative. Since the beginnings of civilization, men and women have not been content to build a wall around their settlements and stay within its con nes. They explored the land around them, climbed the mountains, and scanned the horizons. The boldest among them pushed exploration to the most distant frontiers of the planet. As a result, much of the Earth was inhabited well before the days of the renowned European – th th plorers of the 15 and 16 centuries. Exploration did not cease, after the circumnavigation of the globe; it continued to the present. Today explorers are going in new directions, not just east and west, north and south. They explore backward in time and upward in space. Arc- ology explores the shorter time scales, and geochemistry the longer time scales of geophy- cal events: asteroidal and cometary collisions, magnetic reversals, continental formation and more. However, on Earth we cannot go back inde nitely, for much of the evidence of the very earliest days has been lost.

Tabella dei contenuti

Foreword.- The New Horizons Pluto Kuiper Belt Mission: An Overview with Historical Context.- The New Horizons Spacecraft.- New Horizons Mission Design.- Overview of the New Horizons Science Payload.- New Horizons: Anticipated Scientific Investigations at the Pluto System.- Ralph: A Visible/Infrared Imager for the New Horizons Pluto/Kuiper Belt Mission.- ALICE: The Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph Aboard the New Horizons Pluto–Kuiper Belt Mission.- Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager on New Horizons.- The New Horizons Radio Science Experiment (REX).- The Solar Wind Around Pluto (SWAP) Instrument Aboard New Horizons.- The Pluto Energetic Particle Spectrometer Science Investigation (PEPSSI) on the New Horizons Mission.- The Student Dust Counter on the New Horizons Mission.