New Horizons successfully made closest contact with Pluto today, July 14, at 7:49 a.m. EDT, passing within 7,767 miles of the dwarf planet, roughly the distance between Sydney and Seattle, according to Fox News.
First the countdown, then the cheers, were heard at NASA headquarters as everyone celebrated in an event that will soon be included in history books.
"So many people put so much work into this around this around the country," said Alan Stern, New Horizons principal investigator. "It's a moment of celebration," Fox News reports.
It took nine years for the space probe to reach this point, and details of the data it has come to collect will be received throughout the day. The team behind this exploration will need lots of time to analyze and interpret the data that New Horizons will be sending. Due to distance, data from the spacecraft take an average of four hours to reach headquarters.
Monday, NASA got information that revealed Pluto is 1,473 miles in diameter, larger than previously believed.
"The size of Pluto has been debated since its discovery in 1930. We are excited to finally lay this question to rest," mission scientist Bill McKinnon said in a statement, according to ABC News.
