New Horizons space probe to visit objects in the Kuiper belt

NASA has announced that it will send its New Horizons spacecraft toward a number of objects in the Kuiper belt. One of the targets is MU69, a celestial body that likely played a role in the formation of the solar system.

The space agency posted details of the mission on its website. New Horizons has officially been given the green light to fly on to an object called MU69. Along the way, information is collected about other celestial bodies located in the Kuiper Belt, including the dwarf planet Eris. Although the Kuiper Belt is on the outer edge of the solar system, New Horizons has come a long way; the spacecraft has already flown past Pluto. Nevertheless, it will take several years to reach MU69, which is still a little further in the Kuiper belt, counting from the sun. With a visit to the space object, there should probably become more clear about the formation of the solar system.

Last year, NASA already announced that it might extend the New Horizons mission with a visit to a number of celestial bodies in the Kuiper belt. However, a detailed proposal still had to be submitted in order to get money for the trip, something that the mission leaders have now achieved.

New Horizons is best known for its mission to Pluto, which captured razor-sharp images of the dwarf planet for the first time. This included large icebergs.

At the same time, NASA has decided that another spacecraft, named Dawn, will continue to orbit around dwarf planet Ceres. Initially there was talk that the probe would fly to an asteroid belt.