NASA New Horizons spacecraft set to visit most distant object ever
NASA's New Horizons probe is on course to flyby the Kuiper Belt object nicknamed Ultima Thule this New Year, an event that will set the record for the most distant object ever visited by a spacecraft, scientists say. This was the first Ultima targeting manoeuver that used pictures taken by New Horizons itself to determine the spacecraft's position relative to the Kuiper Belt object. These "optical navigation" images, gathered by New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager, provide direct information of Ultima's position relative to New Horizons, and help the team determine where the spacecraft is headed. "The recent navigation images have helped us confirm that Ultima is within about 500 kilometres of its expected position, which is exceptionally good," said Fred Pelletier, New Horizons navigation team chief, of KinetX Aerospace, Inc.
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