New Horizons: Completing the Initial Reconnaissance of the Solar System—Guest Editors’ Introduction

Abstract

This issue of the Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest, “New Horizons: Completing the initial Reconnaissance of the Solar System,” tells the story of the exploration of Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. It describes the history of New Horizons from conception through the flyby of Pluto and the Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth, as well as the scientific rationale for the mission. This discussion is followed by descriptions of the spacecraft and instruments; how the New Horizons team flew the mission across the solar system and then told the world about it; and a summary of the scientific results and possible future science investigations (subject to NASA approval) to study the outer heliosphere.