Original Series DESTINATION: PLUTO Features Exclusive Interview with New Horizons' Lead Investigator
Silver Spring, MD, July 8, 2015 (Newswire.com) - Streaming service CuriosityStream introduces DESTINATION: PLUTO, an original 8-part series that tracks the decade-long journey of the NASA’s New Horizons mission that culminates in the July 14 fly-by of Pluto. Produced with help from members of the New Horizons team, the documentary series gives historical and scientific context to the mission and features exclusive interviews, including with Alan Stern, the visionary lead investigator on New Horizons.
The 8-part documentary series DESTINATION: PLUTO features the challenges and perils faced by a dedicated team of researchers attempting to go where “no man has gone before.” The New Horizons mission is on a history-making journey across the entire solar system to visit the last planet. It’s a story of audacity, determination and perseverance and how a dot in the sky called “Pluto” became a real place.
The first five episodes are available now on CuriosityStream and include stories about the challenges of long duration spaceflight, the Pluto planet controversy, the nature of this most oddball planetary system, and details about the equipment and tools attached to the probe itself. Episodes six through eight will premiere July 10-15 and include an exclusive interview with Alan Stern, the lead investigator for New Horizons, as well as exclusive content from the July 14 flyby.
The DESTINATION: PLUTO series includes the following episodes:
1-Close Encounters Of The Plutonian Kind: Follow the timeline of the New Horizons mission from its inception to the date of its close encounter with Pluto. Watch initial reactions from those closest to the mission.
2-Pluto Or Bust: The controversial debate of Pluto's planetary status is explored.
3-Into the Kuiper Belt: As New Horizons gets ever closer to its final destination of Pluto, we take a look at the instruments aboard the spacecraft. How do they work, and what will they help us learn about this distant planet?
4-The Mapmaker's Dream: As the New Horizons spacecraft gets ever closer to Pluto, the images being relayed back to Earth are superior to anything we've seen before. Take a look at how we're mapping the surface, and the new knowledge gleaned as New Horizons approaches its target.
5-Looking Back, Looking Forward: Although the journey has been smooth so far, the dangers to New Horizons will increase exponentially as it encounters Pluto's planetary orbit. We'll look at the inherent threats, as well as taking a look at Pluto's violent past.
6-The Shoals of Pluto: Meet some of the New Horizons imaging team members and see the latest results as pictures from the spacecraft now surpass the best we can do from Earth. What do we expect surface conditions to be like, what have we learned so far? Principle investigator Alan Stern shares his thoughts and concerns on the eve of our first encounter with the last planet.
7-Pluto-We’re Going In: This is the actual encounter itself; did we make it through? Will New Horizons discover rings around Pluto and new moons? What will the latest maps of Pluto’s surface reveal? How does our speculation about the surface of Pluto compare to what we’ve actually found? How does New Horizons compare in history with Voyager, Cassini and Hubble.
8-Earth Calling Pluto: More thoughts and reflections about what we've learned about Pluto, our solar system, and what awaits us in the vast realm of the Kuiper Belt. Topography of the Kuiper Belt, the “Great Wall” at the outer edge of the belt, and the Oort Cloud beyond. Team members will share their thoughts about what it takes to produce a long duration space exploration mission, the pride of knowing that our first reconnaissance of the solar system is now completed, the first step in a new manifest destiny for all of mankind---among the stars.
Since launching in January 2006, the New Horizons mission has steadily made it’s way to the outermost realm of the solar system to explore the land that is planet Pluto, tracking a million miles a day every day. The following video outlines the major milestones that have occurred in the US since the New Horizon's craft started its journey nearly 10 years ago: https://vimeo.com/curiosityproject/review/131538608/4d560ba8a1
CuriosityStream is the world's first ad-free, on-demand streaming service for quality informative programming that educates, inspires and entertains. Learn more at CuriosityStream.com and explore the service using the code: CSPRESS2015.
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