Science and Technology question from Patwari exam, 2024 by JKSSB
New Horizons’ spacecraft was launched by NASA to study which of the following planet?
Last updated May 13, 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.
