AstroGrav Help / Sample Simulations / Space Missions / New Horizons

New Horizons

Introduction

This simulation shows the path followed by the New Horizons spacecraft.

New Horizons was launched on 19th January 2006 and then received a gravity assist from the planet Jupiter on 28th February 2007 that accelerated it and changed its orbit in preparation for an encounter Pluto on 14th July 2015.

The simulation also contains the Sun, together with all known planets.

What you can do with it

The starting date for the simulation is 20th January 2006 - a day after the launch of New Horizons. If you run the simulation forward, you can watch the encounter with Jupiter, followed by the encounter with Pluto. You can see how the path (orbit) followed by the spacecraft is changed by the encounter with Jupiter to set it on course for the encounter with Pluto several years later.

Ideas for further investigation

You can find out more from the following web site:

http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/index.php