NASA's Pluto Flyby

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NASA's New Horizons spacecraft conducted a historic flyby of Pluto on July 14, 2015. This mission marked the first time a spacecraft had explored the dwarf planet up close, providing unprecedented insights into Pluto's geology, atmosphere, and moons. The flyby revealed Pluto as an active world with diverse landscapes, including towering mountains and vast ice sheets. New Horizons flew within 7,800 miles of Pluto's surface, capturing high-resolution images and data that transformed our understanding of this distant icy body. The mission's findings challenged previous assumptions about Pluto, revealing it as a complex and dynamic system. New Horizons also observed Pluto's moons, including Charon, Nix, Hydra, Kerberos, and Styx. The data transmission took over 15 months due to the spacecraft's distance from Earth. This historic event marked a significant milestone in space exploration, offering new perspectives on the outer reaches of the solar system and its potential for supporting life-like conditions in icy worlds.