Where Is NASA’s New Horizons Mission Now & What’s Next

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NASA's New Horizons probe is currently deep inside the Kuiper Belt, but what's next for the little spacecraft that's exploring the depths of the solar system? New Horizons took a picture of Pluto’s Heart, an icy region officially known as Tombaugh Regio, back in 2015. The image quickly became viral as it was the first time Pluto was seen up close, and the heart shape was endearing to fans of the former ninth planet. However, New Horizons has the potential to make more discoveries in its journey beyond Pluto and into the outskirts of the heliosphere.

NASA has launched several probes over the years that have traveled great distances and provided scientists with valuable data about elusive gas giants like Uranus and Neptune. Some of the information and images obtained have made breakthrough discoveries that have allowed for a better understanding of how the solar system was formed and helped to make more accurate predictions about other regions of space. Using Jupiter's gravity assist, New Horizons made a flyby of Pluto and studied its terrain and atmosphere, finding a frozen world of perplexing icy structures beyond imagination.

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The small but mighty probe is well-equipped with seven instruments that can detect different kinds of light, solar wind, plasma, energetic particles, dust, etc. After its encounter with Pluto, New Horizons flew by the Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) Arrokoth in 2019, also known as the most distant object ever explored up close by a spacecraft. These objects are highly sought after because they teach scientists about planetesimals, which are the building blocks of planets. Because of its prime location on the edge of the solar