“It’s just amazing. It’s truly a hallmark in human history,” he said of the encounter with Pluto. “It’s been an incredible voyage.”
New Horizons probe completes flyby nine years after leaving Earth
Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt and the first trans-Neptunian object to be discovered.
NASA's Three-Billion-Mile Journey to Pluto Reaches Historic Encounter Nasa spacecraft makes history as the first spacecraft to reach distant dwarf planet, the last unexplored world in solar system The probe shot past at more than 28,000mph (45,000 km/h) at 12.49pm BST (7.49am ET) on a trajectory that brought the fastest spacecraft ever to leave Earth’s orbit within 7,770 miles of Pluto’s surface.The spacecraft is currently out of contact with Earth as it continues its observations. New Horizons' flyby of 2,370km-wide Pluto is a key moment in the history of space exploration.