General Science question from Patwari exam, 2024 by JKSSB
New Horizons’ spacecraft was launched by NASA to study which of the following planet?
Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Correct Answer:
Option A —
Pluto
• Launched in January 2006, the New Horizons spacecraft was the first mission specifically designed to explore the Pluto system and the Kuiper Belt (a region of icy objects beyond Neptune).
• It made its closest approach to Pluto on July 14, 2015, providing the first-ever close-up images of the dwarf planet and its moons (Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra).
• The mission revealed Pluto to be a geologically active world with nitrogen ice plains, mountain ranges, and a thin atmosphere, famously capturing the "heart-shaped" glacier known as Tombaugh Regio.
• Current Status: After the Pluto flyby, the spacecraft continued further into the Kuiper Belt and performed a successful flyby of the object Arrokoth in 2019. It remains operational and is currently traveling toward interstellar space.
Answer verified by Quintessence Classes faculty — Karan Nagar, Srinagar.
