海角大神

At 7:49 am EDT Tuesday morning, the New Horizons mission is estimated to make its Pluto flyby, marking the high point of a journey that began almost ten years ago. By Monday night, the mission will be less than one million miles away, a short distance compared to the 聽thus far.聽The New Horizons missions set to zoom past the dwarf planet at 31,000 miles per hour聽in what's been,聽"an across the solar system," said Alan Stern, the New Horizons principal investigator in a talk to employees at the Kennedy Center in Florida.

Here are four surprising facts about the New Horizons mission:

1. Pluto is no longer defined as a planet
In 2006, the from that of a planet to the new 鈥渄warf planet鈥� category in a highly contentious move. The primary distinction between a planet and a dwarf planet is , while planets do.

2. A man鈥檚 ashes are aboard the mission.
A small amount of the ashes of American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh are on the mission headed to the dwarf planet. Mr. Tombaugh . The self-taught astronomer was able to work at the Lowell Observatory before attending college because his hand-created telescopes and power of observation impressed the staff at the observatory. 聽He , and his wish was granted when the New Horizons mission launched in 2006.

3. You can ride aboard the mission using
NASA has created an interactive application that allows users to 鈥渞ide鈥� on the聽6,200 miles from the surface of the dwarf planet. The pictures on the application will show, 鈥渨here the spacecraft is looking and what its advanced instruments can see,鈥� according to the "Eyes on Pluto" website.

4. The journey is not over after the Pluto flyby.
While anticipation for this unprecedented moment has built up for the past ten years, the mission will not return directly to Earth after the Pluto flyby. Currently, New Horizons is scheduled to after Tuesday morning鈥檚 brush with history.

"The spacecraft is performing flawlessly, so is the instrument suite and we are on schedule for arrival." said Stern on Saturday. A total of seven instruments on board will be collecting data throughout the time that the mission approaches the tiny planet the size of the United States. However, 鈥�New Horizons' communications antenna is fixed to the craft, so the craft must reorient itself to properly aim the antenna at Earth. Any attempt to communicate with Earth during the flyby's most critical period would mean pulling the instruments off their targets,鈥� reported 海角大神鈥檚 Pete Spotts on Sunday.

听鈥淎蹿迟别谤, Pluto is well worth the wait,鈥� said Stern on Saturday.

The event will be .