OTD In Space – July 14: New Horizons Flies By Pluto

On July 14, 2015, a spacecraft flew by Pluto for the first time! NASA's New Horizons spacecraft spent 9.5 years making the 3-billion-mile journey to Pluto.

When it finally arrived, it took some amazing photos of the dwarf planet's surface. Most notably, the photos revealed that Pluto has a huge, heart-shaped plain, tall mountains and icy volcanoes. The mission also found that Pluto and its largest moon Charon are tidally locked, which means that Pluto's heart is always facing Charon, and the same side of Charon is always facing Pluto. It also seems to be borrowing some atmosphere from Pluto, which appears a big red spot on Charon's north pole.