New Horizons: a NASA Voyage to Pluto

Functionality & Mechanism

This educational companion app, developed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), aggregates real-time data, news reports, and multimedia content from NASA's New Horizons voyage. The interface facilitates exploration of the spacecraft's instruments and trajectory, utilizing a locator tool and countdown clock. It presents a media gallery of deep-space imagery and videos from the historic mission, and integrates a live news center and Twitter feed to deliver up-to-the-minute updates from the planetary frontier.

Development & Context

• The application was created by the same team at Johns Hopkins APL that built and operates the New Horizons spacecraft for NASA.
• Its stated purpose was to share the adventure of the historic mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt with a broad public audience.
• The news coverage highlights a tool that connected users to the "Ice Hunters" program, a citizen science initiative to find potential mission targets.
• The free app was launched in 2011 and was available for iPhone, iPad, and later included an Apple Watch companion app.

Intended Use & Scope

This app is designed for students, educators, and space exploration enthusiasts interested in following the New Horizons mission. It functions as a public outreach and educational tool, providing direct access to official mission news, data visualizations, and multimedia. The content is intended for informational and public engagement purposes, sourced directly from the mission team.