Alan Stern
Alan Stern
Sol Alan Sternis an American engineer and planetary scientist. He is the principal investigator of the New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Chief Scientist at Moon Express...
moon nine months
It'll be the fastest spacecraft ever to Jupiter...13 months after launch. We pass the Moon in just nine hours.
opportunity space people
Naming celestial objects is usually done by astronomers and professionals. Other people who are interested in space never get the opportunity to do that kind of thing.
real moon horizon
This is in a real sense the capstone of the initial missions to explore the planets. Pluto, its moons and this part of the solar system are such mysteries that New Horizons will rewrite all of the textbooks.
criteria moon object objects small solar system whether
Whether or not an object has a moon is not part of the criteria that we've considered, because so many small objects in the solar system have moons,
companions fact people pluto visceral
Just on a visceral level, the fact that Pluto has a whole suite of companions will make some people feel better.
billion bit conditions giant observe outer provides rewriting textbooks time window
It provides for us a window 41/2 billion years back in time to observe the formation conditions of giant planets. This is a little bit about rewriting the textbooks about the outer planets.
arrival certain date july quite
I have July 14, 2015, emblazoned on my calendar. That's our arrival date at Pluto. We are now quite certain of that.
describing god halloween named strictly underworld
It's ... strictly coincidental that Pluto, of course, was named for the god of the underworld and we're describing these Halloween moons.
earth planets pluto solar system turns
It used to be that Pluto was a misfit. Now it turns out that Earth is the misfit. Most planets in the solar system look like Pluto, and not like the terrestrial planets.
calling discovery result scientific
I?m calling the discovery of the two new satellites the first scientific result of New Horizons.
fastest months moon nine pass spacecraft
It'll be the fastest spacecraft ever to Jupiter13 months after launch. We pass the Moon in just nine hours.
initial led planets since states united united-states
This is, in a very real sense, the capstone of the initial reconnaissance of the planets that the United States has led for the world since the 1960s.
initial last mission
This is the capstone of the initial reconnaissance of the planets, the first mission to the last planet.
example horizons last mission nearest
I jokingly say now that New Horizons is the first mission to the nearest example of the last planet.