Pluto – Mission To the Far Reaches of the Solar System
by Nicole Rahal
Although Pluto was discovered in 1930, limited information on this distant object delayed a realistic understanding of its characteristics. For about 70 years no one questioned the fact of it being a planet until researcher Mike Brown had discovered a new object which was distant, but larger in the Solar System. With this discovery astronomers began to reconsider the definition of a planet. In 2006, Pluto failed to meet the criteria of a planet. Pluto has only a fraction of the mass of the rest of the objects in its orbit, while the rest of the planets have essentially cleared theirs out completely. Even though Pluto is a dwarf planet, and no longer officially a planet, it'll still be a fascinating target for study. If we had incorrectly categorized Pluto as being planet, who knows what misjudgments that may have occurred when observing this object. Only time could tell what mysteries we can solve about this dwarf planet. To accomplish this feat, a mission to Pluto must be constructed. The knowledge of the information and the unknown details of this icy sphere will prove remarkable and greatly expand our understanding of our solar system.
To construct a successful mission, there are certain qualifications and guidelines the spacecraft has to meet. First of all, it has to be the fastest ever launched because Pluto is billions of miles away and we need a spacecraft that will arrive there and back as quick as time allows. It will take years for this journey, but the outcome will be beneficial. The pressure in space is nearly zero and the materials making up the spacecraft must sustain through the harsh environments. Meteoroids are very small bits of rock and metal left over from the formation of the solar system and from the collisions of comets and asteroids. Though usually small in mass, these particles travel at very high velocities and can easily penetrate thin metal. Crafted with strong and thick metal, the spacecraft headed for Pluto will have higher chances or achieving our objective.
The spacecraft also will carry scientific instruments that will conduct procedures and experiments to provide information to us on Earth about our fellow planet. Its mission is to characterize the global geology, map their surface compositions, take samples, record temperatures, and examine Pluto's complex atmosphere. Also, this spacecraft will take pictures of this first hand view of the dwarf planet. Fly-bys of ancient rocky objects farther out in the solar system may also be undertaken during an extended mission.
If everything goes as planned and the mission succeeds, we would no longer have to rely on observations made from billions of miles away from Pluto. Now new evidence and information about this icy sphere can provide us facts that can fill a book. After this mission,
some scientists and mechanics will be construct one to reach beyond Pluto and into the unknown.
There are endless possibilities what this breakthrough can do for us.
Space is the void that lies beyond the uppermost reaches of the atmosphere of Earth and between all the other objects in the universe. Compared to what is there to be known, we know so little. A mission to Pluto will be worth all the work and time. It will show us information that we wouldn't have imagined and wouldn't find out if we didn't construct a mission. Success would prove an amazing feat of going to the edge and back.