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New Horizons has been in space for 6643 days. (Launch Date: Jan 19, 2006)

It's been 3180 days
since New Horizons'
closest approach
to Pluto on
July 14, 2015.


It's been 1913 days
since New Horizons'
closest approach
to 2014 MU69 on
January 1, 2019.



Questions? Comments?
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1961 Tasco 12TE


Tasco 4.5 Lunagrosso


New Horizons Message Initiative October, 2016

  November 2016  

December, 2016

     Current Date  

9th day of Spring


84 days until Summer


Sunday


Monday


Tuesday


Wednesday


Thursday


Friday


Saturday


   

 1

     54 years ago, in 1962:

The Soviet Mars 1 (2MV-4 No.2) is launched, though communication is lost before the craft passes Mars.

     53 years ago, in 1963:

The Soviet Polyot, an orbital carrier rocket, makes its first of two flights to test ASAT (Anti-satellite) spacecraft.

     22 years ago, in 1994:

The NASA WIND satellite is launched to study radio waves and plasma in the solar wind.

 2

     439 years ago, in 1577:

Peruvian observers are the first to view the Great Comet of 1577 (C/1577 V1).

     99 years ago, in 1917:

The 100-inch Hooker Telescope sees "first light".

     51 years ago, in 1965:

The Soviet Proton-2 satellite is launched for the study of high and ultra-high energy particles.

     42 years ago, in 1974:

Luna 23 (USSR) goes into orbit around the Moon.

     16 years ago, in 2000:

Expedition 1, the first ISS Crew, arrives at the station on board Soyuz TM-31.

     14 years ago, in 2002:

Stardust flies by asteroid Annefrank on its way to Comet Wild 2.

     8 years ago, in 2008:

Phoenix Mars Mission makes its final contact with Earth.

     5 years ago, in 2011:

Shenzhou 8 successfully docks with Tiangong-1, becoming China's first orbital docking.

     4 years ago, in 2012:

The retired shuttle Atlantis is delivered to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida for public display.

     4 years ago, in 2012:

The French CoRoT exoplanet-hunting space telescope suffers a computer failure that makes it impossible to retrieve any data from the satellite.

 3            WAXING CRESCENT 

     59 years ago, in 1957:

The Soviets launch Sputnik 2, with the first dog in orbit, Laika (Barker).

     56 years ago, in 1960:

Explorer 8 is launched and confirms the existence of a helium layer in the upper atmosphere.

     43 years ago, in 1973:

Mariner 10 is launched to Mercury.

       This year:

The Long March 5 makes a successful maiden flight.

 4

     54 years ago, in 1962:

Mars 2MV-3 No.1 (Sputnik 24) is launched by the Soviet Union, but a problem with the rocket causes it to be stranded in low Earth orbit.

     47 years ago, in 1969:

2867 Steins, a main-belt asteroid, is discovered by Nikolai Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory.

     35 years ago, in 1981:

Venera 14 is launched to Venus.

     31 years ago, in 1985:

Voyager 2 begins long-range observations of Uranus.

     20 years ago, in 1996:

The High Energy Transient Explorer (HETE), designed for multiwavelength study of gamma-ray bursts, is lost on launch.

     6 years ago, in 2010:

Deep Impact (EPOXI mission) flies by Comet Hartley 2.

 5

     52 years ago, in 1964:

Mariner 3 is launched for Mars, but its solar panels fail to deploy, and the mission is terminated.

     49 years ago, in 1967:

ATS-3 is launched by NASA, with experiments in weather data collection and imagery.

     40 years ago, in 1976:

The Viking 1 orbiter primary mission ends.

     9 years ago, in 2007:

Chang'e 1, an unmanned Chinese lunar-orbiting spacecraft, enters lunar orbit.

     4 years ago, in 2012:

2012 VP113 (Biden), an extreme trans-Neptunian object and sednoid, is discovered at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile.

     3 years ago, in 2013:

India's Mars Orbiter Mission, Mangalyaan, is launched.

 6

     52 years ago, in 1964:

Explorer 23, the third and last in the series of S 55 micrometeoroid satellites, is launched.

     51 years ago, in 1965:

GEOS-1 (Geodetic Earth Orbiting Satellite); also known as GEOS-A & Explorer 29, is successfully launched for geodetic studies of the Earth.

     50 years ago, in 1966:

NASA's Lunar Orbiter 2 is launched to photograph the Moon.

     42 years ago, in 1974:

Luna 23 lands on the Moon, though the lander's drilling device is damaged during landing which prevents a sampling.

     19 years ago, in 1997:

The Galileo probe flies by Europa, one of Jupiters moons.

 7            FIRST QUARTER 

     51 years ago, in 1965:

After a successful one year mission, last contact is made with Explorer 23.

     49 years ago, in 1967:

Surveyor 6 is launched for the Moon.

     20 years ago, in 1996:

Mars Global Surveyor is launched.

 8

     58 years ago, in 1958:

Able 3 (Pioneer 2) is launched for lunar orbit, but a booster malfunction causes it to get stranded in Earth orbit.

     48 years ago, in 1968:

Pioneer 9 is launched to obtain measurements of interplanetary phenomena.

     47 years ago, in 1969:

West Germany's first scientific satellite, Azur, is successfully launched.

     32 years ago, in 1984:

Aboard the shuttle Discovery (STS-51-A), Anna Lee Fisher becomes the first mother in space.

     8 years ago, in 2008:

India's first lunar probe, Chandrayaan-1, is successfully inserted into lunar orbit.

     5 years ago, in 2011:

Fobos-Grunt, together with the Chinese Mars orbiter Yinghuo-1 and the Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment, are launched from Russia.

 9

     49 years ago, in 1967:

First Saturn V launch (Apollo 4 - unmanned test flight).

     46 years ago, in 1970:

The Orbiting Frog Otolith (OFO) is launched by NASA, putting two bullfrogs into orbit to study weightlessness.

     32 years ago, in 1984:

Canada's Anik D2 communications satellite is deployed from shuttle Discovery (STS-51-A).

     11 years ago, in 2005:

The ESA's Venus Express is launched.

 10

     50 years ago, in 1966:

Lunar Orbiter 2 goes into orbit around the Moon.

     49 years ago, in 1967:

Surveyor 6 lands on the Moon.

     48 years ago, in 1968:

Zond 6 is launched to the Moon from a parent satellite in Earth orbit.

     46 years ago, in 1970:

The Luna 17/Lunokhod 1 rover combo is launched to the Moon.

     44 years ago, in 1972:

Canada's Anik A1 communications satellite is launched.

     8 years ago, in 2008:

Phoenix Mars Mission is declared concluded after attempts at contact fail.

     7 years ago, in 2009:

The Poisk docking module is launched to the ISS aboard Progress M-MIM2, a modified Progress-M rocket.

 11            WAXING GIBBOUS 

     444 years ago, in 1572:

Tycho Brahe observes supernova SN 1572 in the constellation of Cassiopeia.

     81 years ago, in 1935:

Explorer II, a U.S. high-altitude balloon with a two-man crew, reaches a record altitude of 72,395 ft (22,066 m).

     53 years ago, in 1963:

Cosmos 21 (Kosmos 21), a possible test of the Venera series space probes, is launched but never leaves Earth orbit.

     50 years ago, in 1966:

Gemini XII is launched; last Gemini mission, Buzz Aldrin sets EVA record of 5 hours, 30 minutes.

     34 years ago, in 1982:

Columbia is launched on the first operational Shuttle mission (STS-5), and deploys two satellites, Anik C3 and SBS 3.

     34 years ago, in 1982:

Viking Lander 1 makes its final contact with Earth.

 12

     131 years ago, in 1885:

253 Mathilde, a minor planet in the intermediate asteroid belt, is discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa at the Vienna Observatory.

     36 years ago, in 1980:

Voyager 1 flies by Saturn.

     35 years ago, in 1981:

The shuttle Columbia (STS-2) is launched.

     21 years ago, in 1995:

The docking module is launched aboard the shuttle Atlantis (STS-47) to be a part of the Mir space station.

     21 years ago, in 1995:

Chris Hadfield makes his first trip to space on the shuttle Atlantis (STS-74), and is the only Canadian to visit Mir.

     7 years ago, in 2009:

The Rosetta probe makes its third Earth flyby.

     2 years ago, in 2014:

The Rosetta probes Philae lander successfully lands on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

 13

     439 years ago, in 1577:

Tycho Brahe observes the Great Comet of 1577 (C/1577 V1) in the evening sky.

     38 years ago, in 1978:

The Einstein Observatory (HEAO-2) becomes the first imaging and extra-solar X-ray telescope to be launched into orbit.

     35 years ago, in 1981:

Canadarm is tested for the first time aboard shuttle Columbia (STS-2).

     11 years ago, in 2005:

Vanth, a moon of the plutino Orcus, is discovered by Michael Brown and T.-A. Suer using images acquired by the Hubble telescope.

     9 years ago, in 2007:

The Rosetta probe makes its second Earth flyby.

     7 years ago, in 2009:

Based on data gathered from the LCROSS mission, NASA announces that water was detected on Cabeus crater on the moon.

 14            FULL MOON 

     336 years ago, in 1680:

The German astronomer Gottfried Kirch discovers the Great Comet of 1680 (C/1680 V1, Kirch's Comet, Newton's Comet), the first comet discovered by a telescope.

     48 years ago, in 1968:

Zond 6 flies around the Moon and heads back to Earth.

     47 years ago, in 1969:

Apollo 12 is launched to land on the Moon.

     45 years ago, in 1971:

Mariner 9 arrives at Mars, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit another planet.

     35 years ago, in 1981:

The shuttle Columbia (STS-2) lands three days early, due to a fuel cell problem.

     13 years ago, in 2003:

Sedna, a large trans-Neptunian object, is discovered.

     10 years ago, in 2006:

The Mars Global Surveyor mission ends.

     8 years ago, in 2008:

India's Chandrayaan-1 Moon Impact Probe strikes the Moon near the Shackleton crater at the south pole.

     5 years ago, in 2011:

Shenzhou 8 successfully completes a second rendezvous and docking with Tiangong-1.

     4 years ago, in 2012:

NASA's Kepler space telescope completes its primary mission and begins an extended mission.

 15

     164 years ago, in 1852:

21 Lutetia, a large asteroid in the main asteroid belt, is discovered by Hermann Goldschmidt from the balcony of his apartment in Paris.

     50 years ago, in 1966:

Gemini XII lands back on Earth.

     44 years ago, in 1972:

SAS-2 (Explorer 48), a gamma ray telescope, is launched.

     42 years ago, in 1974:

Spain's first satellite, INTASAT, is successfully launched.

     38 years ago, in 1978:

The Pioneer Venus Multiprobe, nearing Venus, deploys its largest probe for atmospheric study, named Sounder.

     28 years ago, in 1988:

At the radio astronomy Green Bank site, a 90.44 m paraboloid erected in 1962 collapses due to the sudden loss of a gusset plate in the box girder assembly.

     28 years ago, in 1988:

The Russian "Space Shuttle" makes its first and only (unmanned) test flight in the Orbiter K1 Buran.

     21 years ago, in 1995:

Telemetry contact is lost with the Japanese probe Sakigake.

 16

     53 years ago, in 1963:

The Soviet Voskhod carrier rocket is launched on its maiden flight.

     51 years ago, in 1965:

Venera 3 is launched for Venus.

     48 years ago, in 1968:

The Soviet Proton-4 satellite is launched for the study of the energy spectrum and chemical composition of cosmic rays.

     43 years ago, in 1973:

Skylab 4, the third and final mission to Skylab, is launched.

     42 years ago, in 1974:

The "Arecibo Message", the first message sent intentionally into space with the intent of contacting alien life, is broadcast in the direction of globular star cluster M13.

     15 years ago, in 2001:

The Genesis spacecraft arrives at Legrange point 1, or L1.

     7 years ago, in 2009:

The shuttle Atlantis (STS-129) is launched to the ISS with the ExPRESS Logistics Carriers.

     5 years ago, in 2011:

NASA's Crawler Transporter One carries Space Launch System’s (SLS) mobile launcher from beside the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B.

 17            WANING GIBBOUS 

     55 years ago, in 1961:

Explorer 11 ceases returning data due to power supply problems.

     50 years ago, in 1966:

The annual Leonid showers peaks at approximately 500,000 meteors an hour.

     49 years ago, in 1967:

The Surveyor 6 probe's engines are restarted and burned for 2.5 seconds, accomplishing the first lunar liftoff.

     48 years ago, in 1968:

The Zond 6 reentry capsule crash-lands on Earth.

     46 years ago, in 1970:

Luna 17 lands on the Moon and releases the Lunokhod 1 rover, becoming the first rover on another world, and operating for 322 days.

     41 years ago, in 1975:

Soyuz 20 (unmanned) is launched to, and docks with, the Salyut 4 space station for a long-duration test of the Soyuz spacecraft.

     27 years ago, in 1989:

The Solar Maximum Mission satellite (SolarMax) loses its attitude control.

     21 years ago, in 1995:

ESA launches the ISO (Infrared Space Observatory) telescope to study infrared light.

     5 years ago, in 2011:

After completing China's first and second orbital docking with Tiangong-1, Shenzhou 8 is deorbited and lands in Siziwang Banner in Inner Mongolia.

 18

     183 years ago, in 1833:

The annual Leonid showers peaks at approximately 14,000 meteors an hour; the night “the stars fell on Alabama”.

     55 years ago, in 1961:

Ranger 2 is launched to be placed in an eliptical orbit around the Moon, but burns up in low orbit one day later.

     27 years ago, in 1989:

The Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) is launched on the first and only flight of the Delta 5000 rocket.

     18 years ago, in 1998:

The Deep Ecliptic Survey (DES) discovers 1998 WW31, the first trans-Neptunian binary to be discovered since Pluto.

     3 years ago, in 2013:

The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft is launched.

 19

     47 years ago, in 1969:

Apollo 12 lands on the Moon.

     38 years ago, in 1978:

The Pioneer Venus Multiprobe, nearing Venus, deploys its three other probes.

     19 years ago, in 1997:

On board shuttle Columbia (STS-87), Leonid Kadeniuk becomes the first citizen of an independant Ukraine to visit space.

 20

     47 years ago, in 1969:

The crew of Apollo 12 visit the Surveyor 3 lander.

     38 years ago, in 1978:

International Sun-Earth Explorer-3 (ISEE-3) enters Halo orbit at Lagrangian Libration Point 1 (L1), the first craft ever to do so.

     18 years ago, in 1998:

Zarya (Dawn), the first ISS Module, is launched aboard a Russian Proton rocket.

     14 years ago, in 2002:

The Delta IV Medium makes its maiden flight (configured as Delta IV-M+(4,)and launches Eutelsat 33B.

     12 years ago, in 2004:

The Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission is launched.

     7 years ago, in 2009:

This domain, NCC-1701.Ca, is registered :-)

      1 year ago, in 2015:

On board a Long March 3B/E rocket, LaoSat-1 becomes the first Laotian satellite.

 21            LAST QUARTER 

     111 years ago, in 1905:

The Annus mirabilis papers, Einstein's work on Mass–energy equivalence and other topics, are published in the Annalen der Physik scientific journal.

     3 years ago, in 2013:

The first Peruvian satellite, PUCP-Sat 1, is successfully launched.

     3 years ago, in 2013:

NASA's STEREO "Ahead" spacecraft captures a view of comet C/2012 S1 (ISON), comet 2P/Encke, Mercury and Earth with its HI-1A camera.

 22

     53 years ago, in 1963:

Relay 1 becomes the first satellite to broadcast from the United States to Japan; the announcement of the assasination of JFK.

     49 years ago, in 1967:

Soyuz 7K-L1 No.5L (Zond 1967A) is launched to perform a circumlunar flyby, but fails to achieve Earth orbit.

     5 years ago, in 2011:

After failing to leave Earth orbit for Mars, a signal from Fobos-Grunt is picked up by the ESA's tracking station in Perth, Australia.

 23

     51 years ago, in 1965:

Cosmos 96 (Kosmos 96) is launched to make a flyby of Venus, but fails to leave low Earth orbit.

     51 years ago, in 1965:

Venera 1965A suffers a launch failure, ending its planned flyby of Venus.

     33 years ago, in 1983:

The first infrared telescope, IRAS, runs out of cryogen and ceases operations.

     14 years ago, in 2002:

The shuttle Endeavour (STS-113), last flight before the Columbia disaster, launches with the Port 1 (P1) truss segment for the ISS.

      1 year ago, in 2015:

Blue Origin's New Shepard (NS2) makes its first sub-orbital spaceflight, with a successful booster landing.

 24

     50 years ago, in 1966:

Explorer 17 burns up in the atmosphere.

     47 years ago, in 1969:

Apollo 12 splashes down in the Pacific Ocean and is retrieved by the USS Hornet.

     26 years ago, in 1990:

The Keck I Telescope sees "first light".

 25            WANING CRESCENT 

     46 years ago, in 1970:

NASA's Northrop M2-F3, a "wingless" aircraft, makes its first powered flight.

     11 years ago, in 2005:

The Japanese Hayabusa spacecraft touches down on the surface of asteroid Itokawa.

 26

     226 years ago, in 1790:

William Herschel discovers NGC 13, a spiral galaxy in the Andromeda constellation.

     58 years ago, in 1958:

The U.S. manned satellite program is officially designated Project Mercury.

     57 years ago, in 1959:

Pioneer P-3 (Atlas-Able 4, Pioneer X) is launched for a lunar orbit, but the mission fails due to the payload fairing breaking off.

     51 years ago, in 1965:

France launches its first satellite, Asterix, which remains active for two days.

     31 years ago, in 1985:

On board shuttle Atlantis (STS-61-B), Rodolfo Neri Vela becomes the first Mexican citizen and the second Latin-American to visit space.

     27 years ago, in 1989:

The Kvant-2 (Augmentation Module) is launched to be a part of the Mir space station.

     26 years ago, in 1990:

The Delta II 7000 makes its maiden flight, launching the satellite USA-66 for the Global Positioning System.

     5 years ago, in 2011:

Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity Rover) is launched.

 27

     53 years ago, in 1963:

Explorer 18, the first satellite of the Interplanetary Monitoring Platform, is launched to study energetic particles, cosmic rays, magnetic fields, and plasmas.

     52 years ago, in 1964:

Explorer 21, the second satellite of the Interplanetary Monitoring Platform, is launched to study energetic particles, cosmic rays, magnetic fields, and plasmas.

     45 years ago, in 1971:

First Mars lander, Mars 2 (USSR) successfully lands but returns no data.

     18 years ago, in 1998:

The International Astrophysical Observatory 'Granat' ceases tranmission after nine years.

     5 years ago, in 2011:

Comet Lovejoy (C/2011 W3) is discovered by Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy.

 28

     52 years ago, in 1964:

Mariner 4 is launched to Mars.

     50 years ago, in 1966:

The Soviet Soyuz carrier rocket is launched on its maiden flight.

     33 years ago, in 1983:

On board Shuttle Columbia (STS-9), Ulf Merbold becomes the first West German citizen, second German native, and the first non-US citizen in a US spacecraft to visit space.

     16 years ago, in 2000:

Varuna, a large classical Kuiper belt object, is discovered by the Spacewatch survey.

     14 years ago, in 2002:

The first Algerian satellite, ALSAT-1, is successfully launched.

 29            NEW MOON 

     273 years ago, in 1743:

Jan de Munck of Middelburg, Netherlands, discovers the Great Comet of 1744 (C/1743 X1).

     55 years ago, in 1961:

Enos, aboard Mercury-Atlas 5, becomes the first chimpanzee to orbit the Earth, and does it twice.

     53 years ago, in 1963:

The NASA Launch Operations Center (LOC) at Cape Canaveral is renamed the John F. Kennedy Space Center.

     51 years ago, in 1965:

Alouette 2 (ISIS-X), a Canadian ionosphere research satellite, is launched.

     49 years ago, in 1967:

The first Australian satellite, WRESAT, is successfully launched.

 30

     52 years ago, in 1964:

Zond 2 is launched to Mars.

     46 years ago, in 1970:

OAO-B (Orbiting Astronomical Observatory B) is launched with a UV telescope, but fails when the payload shroud of the rocket fails to separate.

     5 years ago, in 2011:

NASA's Crawler Transporter One returns the Space Launch System’s (SLS) mobile launcher from Launch Pad 39B back to the Vehicle Assembly Building.

     3 years ago, in 2013:

India's Mars Orbiter Mission, Mangalyaan, goes into trans-Mars injection.