Emily LakdawallaFeb 28, 2007

New Horizons' Jupiter flyby was successful!

According to a press release issued minutes ago, New Horizons has successfully completed its close flyby of Jupiter. As I mentioned yesterday, whether New Horizons would get a gravity boost was never really in doubt; even if the spacecraft were dead as a doorknail, physics dictates that Jupiter's gravity would have accelerated the spacecraft toward an eventual Pluto flyby. But it's nice to know that mission controllers have heard from the spacecraft, and have confirmed it's healthy and still in the middle of its science observations of the Jupiter system.

I'll keep posting new images as I see them!

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