A live planet, shaped by nitrogen instead of water
Remember New Horizons, arriving Pluto July last year? The probe is now leaving the planet, sailing on to a close rendezvous (2,000 miles) with a 25-mile object deep in the Kuiper belt (est arrival Jan. 1, 2019).
In this MIT interview, mission scientist Richard Binzel says New Horizons biggest discovery was that Pluto is a live planet, changed by ponds, possible channels, and advancing glaciers – made out of not water but liquid nitrogen.
As for his personal takeaway from the mission, “persistence coupled with curiosity creates one of the strongest forces in the universe,” the scientist concluded.
NASA’s top ten pics from the mission
