Chasing New Horizons

[Stu]

I've just finally managed to read this book whilst having some relaxed time on holiday. I was given a signed copy a couple of years ago by friends of ours who live in Boulder, Colorado, which just happens to be the home town of one of the co-authors Alan Stern.

I'm not sure what I expected really, perhaps a rather dry, engineering/science led book which was interesting but ultimately not that compelling. 

How wrong I was. The whole project took around 26 years from start to fly-by, and the book is full of personal stories of hard work, dogged perseverance, sheer cool competence under extreme pressure and, I would say, bravery in decision making. By this I mean key people taking potentially career ending risks to ensure the project ultimately succeeded.

I thought the achievement was impressive enough at the time, without knowing any of the back story to it which really put it into perspective. To me it was also one in the eye for those that came up with the contrived definition which apparently diminished Pluto's importance somehow. The reality is that it is an amazing and complex world, deserving of the term planet to my mind; whether it is dwarf or not is kind of irrelevant to me! 

I enjoyed the book immensely on many levels, and even found it not a little emotional at times. Well worth a read if you haven't done so already.

[Helen]

I agree Stu - I read it last year and thoroughly enjoyed it 👍. The scale of the challenge (political, mechanical, human, etc) was immense.

Helen

[Stu]

Interesting article here by the same author about a follow up mission.

http://www.astronomy.com/magazine/2019/10/return-to-pluto?utm_source=asyfb&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=asyfb

[Stu]

Looks like a study to look into a follow up Pluto and KBO mission has been funded.

https://astronomynow.com/2019/10/31/nasa-funds-pluto-orbiter-concept-study/

[Phil Fargaze]

On 02/11/2019 at 21:52, Stu said:

I enjoyed the book immensely on many levels, and even found it not a little emotional at times. Well worth a read if you haven't done so already.

My sentiments exactly, an absolute roller coaster of a read, plus amazing results from a mission that proved it`s worth.