Cookie Consent by Free Privacy Policy website NASA Announces Television Coverage, Media Activities for Pluto Flyby
june 12, 2015 - NASA

NASA Announces Television Coverage, Media Activities for Pluto Flyby

NASA is inviting media to cover New Horizons’ historic Pluto flyby in mid-July, including the spacecraft’s closest approach to Pluto on July 14, from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, site of the mission operations center. Media who wish to cover the events at APL must receive accreditation from the APL Public Affairs Office by June 30. Earlier registration is strongly encouraged, as space is very limited. NASA also will provide comprehensive coverage on NASA Television, and the agency’s website and social media accounts as the spacecraft closes in on Pluto in the coming weeks. The schedule for event coverage is subject to change, with daily updates posted online and in the New Horizons Media Center at APL. Highlights of the current schedule, all times EDT, include: June 16, 23 and 30 11:30 a.m. -- Mission Updates Weekly pre-flyby updates on NASA TV will provide an overview of the New Horizons mission, the spacecraft and its suite of instruments, the July 14 flyby, and a summary of Pluto science to date. July 7- 12  11:30 a.m. -- Final approach to Pluto; live daily mission updates on NASA TV July 12 1 - 5 p.m. -- New Horizons Media Center opens at APL July 13 11 a.m. – noon -- Media briefing: Mission Status and What to Expect. (live on NASA TV) 2:30 – 5:30 p.m. -- Panels: APL’s Endeavors in Space and the latest on New Horizons (no NASA TV coverage) July 14 7:30 a.m. – Media Briefing: Arrival at Pluto, Inside the Pluto System and New Horizons’ Perilous Path (live on NASA TV) At 7:49 a.m., the New Horizons spacecraft will make history as flies past Pluto, after a journey of more than nine years and 3 billion miles. For much of the day the New Horizons spacecraft will be out of communication with mission control as it gathers data on Pluto and its moons. The moment of closest approach will be marked with a live NASA TV broadcast that includes a countdown, a discussion of images and data received thus far, and what’s expected next as New Horizons makes its way past Pluto and potentially dangerous debris. Follow the path of the spacecraft in real time with a visualization of the actual trajectory data, using NASA’s Eyes on Pluto.   9 a.m. – noon -- Interview Opportunities (no NASA TV coverage) Informal group briefings and availability for one-on-one interviews. An updated schedule will be posted in the New Horizons Media Center. Noon – 3 p.m. – Panel Discussions (no NASA TV coverage) New Horizons mission overview and history Pluto system discoveries on approach Mariner 4 and Pluto: 50 years to the day 8 – 9:15 p.m. -- NASA TV program, Phone Home, broadcast from APL Mission Control NASA TV will share the suspenseful moments of this historic event with the public and museums around the world. The New Horizons spacecraft will send a preprogrammed signal after the close approach. The mission team on Earth should receive the signal at about 9:02 p.m. When New Horizons “phones home,” there will be a celebration of its success and the anticipation of data to come over the days and months ahead.   9:15 – 10 p.m. -- Media Briefing: New Horizons Health and Mission Status (live on NASA TV) July 15  Noon – 3 p.m. -- Interview Opportunities (no NASA TV coverage) Informal group briefings and availability for one-on-one interviews. An updated schedule will be posted in the New Horizons Media Center. TBD -- Media Briefing: Seeing Pluto in a New Light (live on NASA TV) Release of close-up images of Pluto’s surface and moons, along with initial science team reactions New Horizons is the first mission to the Kuiper Belt, a gigantic zone of icy bodies and mysterious small objects orbiting beyond Neptune. This region also is known as the “third” zone of our solar system, beyond the inner rocky planets and outer gas giants. APL designed, built and operates the New Horizons spacecraft, and manages the mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio leads the science team, payload operations and encounter science planning. New Horizons is part of the New Frontiers Program, managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Related news

february 28, 2024
february 13, 2024
january 12, 2024

NASA and Intuitive Machines will co-host a televised news conference at 2 p.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 28, from the agency’s Johnson S...

NASA will provide live coverage of the launch and docking of a Roscosmos cargo spacecraft carrying about three tons of food, fuel,...

NASA will host a media teleconference at 12 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Jan. 17, to discuss the upcoming launch and science objectives of...

You might be interested in

january 08, 2024
september 25, 2023
august 18, 2023

NASA and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) have entered into an agreement for MBRSC to provide the Crew and Science Air...

NASA will host a media teleconference at 4 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 26, to discuss the upcoming annular solar eclipse. The annul...

Editor's Note: This release has been updated to add additional graphics, captions, and to spell out the words degrees Fahrenheit a...