NASA's New Horizons spacecraft successfully completed its flyby of Pluto, providing humanity with its first close-up look at the dwarf planet. Launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on January 19, 2006, New Horizons embarked on a decade-long journey across the Solar System. After traveling approximately 3 billion miles, the probe reached Pluto on July 14, 2015, for a rapid flyby that lasted only a few hours. During this brief encounter, New Horizons collected invaluable data and high-resolution images that revealed Pluto's surface features, including mountains and vast ice plains.

The mission's primary objectives included mapping Pluto's surface composition, studying its atmosphere, and understanding its moons, particularly Charon, which is nearly half the size of Pluto itself. The data sent back by New Horizons helped scientists uncover unexpected details about Pluto, such as its complex geological history, the presence of nitrogen ice, and the discovery of a thin atmosphere primarily composed of nitrogen, with traces of methane and carbon monoxide.

One of the most striking findings was the presence of a large heart-shaped glacier, known as Sputnik Planitia, which challenged previous assumptions about the dwarf planet's geology. Additionally, the encounter marked the completion of a thorough survey of the Solar System's classical planets, providing a crucial understanding of how these celestial bodies formed and evolved. The images and data returned have sparked renewed interest in planetary science and provided a wealth of information for future studies.