The story of Pluto is one of a true underdog. Only discovered in 1930, it’s promotion and then demotion as a planet caused a lot of, well, heated debates in the science community. But Pluto had so much in store for the scientists hoping to find out more about it.
The NASA New Horizons mission that flew past Pluto in 2015 gave the world a new image of the beloved planet-not-planet . Far from being a cold, distant rock on the edge of our solar system, Pluto revealed towering mountains, a possible ocean and a vast, million-square-mile nitrogen glacier shaped like a heart.
Planetary scientist Dr Carly Howett speaks to Storyteller about her work on New Horizons and other NASA missions, how they took the now iconic photo of Pluto as the space robot flew by and why we’re all still romanced and intrigued by space.
Show notes:
Follow Dr Carly Howett on Twitter
Find out more about the New Horizons mission
The documentary on BBC’s Horizon 2020: Pluto: Back From the Dead
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