NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, both in Huntsville, Alabama, will host “Plutopalooza” joining in a nationwide celebration of activities and presentations to educate and inform the public about the New Horizons mission’s science objectives and its dramatic flyby of the dwarf planet Pluto. The event, scheduled July 14 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., will include hands-on activities, multimedia shows inside the GeoDome planetarium, space story time, and a virtual reality solar system tour — all sharing the excitement of the first spacecraft to visit distant Pluto.
At 11a.m., Brian Key, deputy program manager of the Planetary Missions Office at Marshall, will speak with news media. Throughout the day, Marshall’s Academic Affairs Office, as well as Space & Rocket Center staff will provide educational activities.
New Horizons’ nearest approach to Pluto occurs at 6:49:57 a.m. CDT July 14, as the spacecraft skims the surface 8,000 miles above the icy terrain, traveling about 31,000 miles per hour. From this vantage point, New Horizons is expected to provide the first detailed and close-up images of Pluto. The spacecraft was launched in 2006.
News media interested in covering the event should contact Tim Hall at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center at 256-701-0916, or Angela Storey of the Marshall Public & Employee Communications Office at 256-544-0034 no later than 3 p.m. Monday, July 13.
More information about NASA’s New Horizons mission is available at:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/main/
More information about the Marshall Center is available at:
More information about the U.S. Space & Rocket Center is available at:
