1
00:00:02,602 --> 00:00:05,949
Narrator: Far out, near the edge
of the solar system,
2
00:00:05,973 --> 00:00:08,452
where the sun's light is weak,
3
00:00:08,476 --> 00:00:11,154
lies a world that,
until recently,
4
00:00:11,178 --> 00:00:13,724
was completely unexplored.
5
00:00:13,748 --> 00:00:16,259
Grinspoon: Pluto is the Everest
of the solar system,
6
00:00:16,283 --> 00:00:20,464
the farthest and coldest
and hardest to reach.
7
00:00:20,488 --> 00:00:22,232
Bagenal: By going to pluto,
8
00:00:22,256 --> 00:00:25,335
we were looking beyond
the known solar system
9
00:00:25,359 --> 00:00:28,305
and exploring a whole new world.
10
00:00:28,329 --> 00:00:30,407
Narrator: A small team
of young scientists
11
00:00:30,431 --> 00:00:31,942
took it upon themselves
12
00:00:31,966 --> 00:00:34,378
to campaign
for a mission to pluto.
13
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We have to just send it out
and take those pictures
14
00:00:37,204 --> 00:00:38,682
stern:
To be able to see this object
15
00:00:38,706 --> 00:00:42,352
that no humans
really could glimpse.
16
00:00:42,376 --> 00:00:44,788
Narrator: Over two and a half
decades later,
17
00:00:44,812 --> 00:00:46,223
they achieve their goal
18
00:00:46,247 --> 00:00:49,159
and make this one
of the most unique discoveries
19
00:00:49,183 --> 00:00:51,395
in the history of space travel.
20
00:00:51,419 --> 00:00:53,497
Bagenal:
It was just extraordinary.
21
00:00:53,521 --> 00:00:56,767
This was a whole new world.
22
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Man: We have liftoff.
23
00:01:07,867 --> 00:01:11,915
There really is something
intrinsic in humans
24
00:01:11,939 --> 00:01:16,720
to want to explore.
25
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Grinspoon: You can look at it
from an evolutionary perspective.
26
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We didn't have the sharpest
claws or the strongest muscles,
27
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but we had this ability
to invent and explore,
28
00:01:27,455 --> 00:01:29,855
and, you know, we had curiosity.
29
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Narrator: The exploration of the
outer solar system began in the 1970s.
30
00:01:42,469 --> 00:01:44,347
And in 1977,
31
00:01:44,371 --> 00:01:48,218
a pair of spacecraft named
voyager 1 and voyager 2
32
00:01:48,242 --> 00:01:51,421
set off to visit
the most distant planets,
33
00:01:51,445 --> 00:01:54,791
including uranus and Neptune.
34
00:01:54,815 --> 00:01:58,595
Voyager 2 was the first
to leave earth.
35
00:01:58,619 --> 00:02:04,301
Man: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
36
00:02:04,325 --> 00:02:08,238
We have ignition,
and we have liftoff.
37
00:02:08,262 --> 00:02:16,262
♪♪
38
00:02:17,538 --> 00:02:19,916
Narrator: The mission would fly
past Jupiter,
39
00:02:19,940 --> 00:02:25,422
then saturn, before heading
for the mysterious outer worlds.
40
00:02:25,446 --> 00:02:29,192
The voyager mission was
an incredible adventure
41
00:02:29,216 --> 00:02:34,164
because it was our first time to
really visit all of these worlds
42
00:02:34,188 --> 00:02:36,533
and start to get to know
their systems --
43
00:02:36,557 --> 00:02:39,958
Not just the planets themselves,
but their moons.
44
00:02:42,662 --> 00:02:45,642
Those of us that were involved
felt almost as though
45
00:02:45,666 --> 00:02:48,645
we were on board the spacecraft
looking out the little window
46
00:02:48,669 --> 00:02:51,114
when the images came up
the screen for the first time.
47
00:02:51,138 --> 00:02:52,749
You're seeing these new worlds.
48
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♪♪
49
00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:05,795
♪♪
50
00:03:05,819 --> 00:03:08,231
When we first visit
these planets, they're flybys.
51
00:03:08,255 --> 00:03:09,833
You're not going into orbit,
you're not landing,
52
00:03:09,857 --> 00:03:12,169
it's just a very quick visit,
and you see it approaching,
53
00:03:12,193 --> 00:03:13,837
and then all of a sudden,
there it is,
54
00:03:13,861 --> 00:03:15,505
and then it's in
the rearview mirror,
55
00:03:15,529 --> 00:03:17,574
and you can't stop,
and you're still going.
56
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♪♪
57
00:03:23,971 --> 00:03:30,353
♪♪
58
00:03:30,377 --> 00:03:33,757
The first pictures of uranus
were a little bit boring,
59
00:03:33,781 --> 00:03:38,717
and people were a little worried
about the lack of jazziness.
60
00:03:43,156 --> 00:03:45,424
Uranus is a weird planet.
61
00:03:48,294 --> 00:03:49,839
Instead of spinning, you know,
62
00:03:49,863 --> 00:03:53,076
like we're spinning 23½ degrees
from vertical,
63
00:03:53,100 --> 00:03:55,378
uranus is on its side,
tipped on its side.
64
00:03:55,402 --> 00:03:57,581
Very strange --
Unlike all the other planets.
65
00:03:57,605 --> 00:04:01,284
Could it have been whanged
by something going by,
66
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tipping it over?
67
00:04:02,943 --> 00:04:04,376
We don't know.
68
00:04:07,947 --> 00:04:09,859
Systems -- attitude control?
69
00:04:09,883 --> 00:04:11,194
Man: Copy.
70
00:04:11,218 --> 00:04:13,897
We see lock up on the green box
on white band.
71
00:04:13,921 --> 00:04:20,637
September 1989, we're about
to arrive at Neptune.
72
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Copy this. Thank you.
73
00:04:23,197 --> 00:04:24,708
Vector.
74
00:04:24,732 --> 00:04:26,565
[ Hushed conversations ]
75
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[ Static ]
76
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♪♪
77
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♪♪
78
00:04:45,085 --> 00:04:47,497
Again, it's sort of cold
and dim,
79
00:04:47,521 --> 00:04:51,134
but Neptune is really
a little bit more interesting
80
00:04:51,158 --> 00:04:52,791
than uranus.
81
00:04:56,462 --> 00:05:01,044
We see a blue atmosphere,
dark, deep clouds,
82
00:05:01,068 --> 00:05:04,481
and then some white clouds
above,
83
00:05:04,505 --> 00:05:08,485
but perhaps the most important
thing about Neptune's system
84
00:05:08,509 --> 00:05:11,655
is the big moon, triton.
85
00:05:11,679 --> 00:05:17,560
♪♪
86
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♪♪
87
00:05:23,457 --> 00:05:27,103
We are pretty sure at this point
that triton formed
88
00:05:27,127 --> 00:05:29,339
orbiting the sun,
just as pluto did,
89
00:05:29,363 --> 00:05:31,174
and somehow, early
in the solar system,
90
00:05:31,198 --> 00:05:34,199
we got captured into orbit
around Neptune.
91
00:05:39,072 --> 00:05:43,286
We saw landscapes like nothing
we had ever seen before --
92
00:05:43,310 --> 00:05:45,322
Looked like melted wax.
93
00:05:45,346 --> 00:05:47,190
It was clearly
a very active world.
94
00:05:47,214 --> 00:05:48,391
There weren't many craters.
95
00:05:48,415 --> 00:05:51,828
So things had been happening
very recently.
96
00:05:51,852 --> 00:05:55,965
The most exciting thing
and the weird thing that we saw
97
00:05:55,989 --> 00:06:02,127
were black plumes of smoke
coming up out of some hole.
98
00:06:03,796 --> 00:06:07,366
[ Murmurs and applause ]
99
00:06:09,235 --> 00:06:12,082
Grinspoon: And seeing that,
which was thought
100
00:06:12,106 --> 00:06:13,616
sort of to be a twin of pluto,
101
00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:15,485
I think a lot of people were
thinking, "well, wait a minute.
102
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There are other worlds
out there."
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[ Static ]
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♪♪
105
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♪♪
106
00:06:32,025 --> 00:06:35,739
For many of us, it was,
"now what?"
107
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What are we gonna do
after voyager?
108
00:06:38,232 --> 00:06:40,643
Is there life after voyager?"
109
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♪♪
110
00:06:50,577 --> 00:06:54,524
I was lucky because a young man
called Alan stern --
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00:06:54,548 --> 00:06:57,627
He was a graduate student --
Came up to me and said,
112
00:06:57,651 --> 00:07:00,029
"what about pluto?
113
00:07:00,053 --> 00:07:01,987
I think we should go to pluto."
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00:07:05,024 --> 00:07:07,437
After voyageur had
the smashing success
115
00:07:07,461 --> 00:07:09,339
all the way
across the solar system,
116
00:07:09,363 --> 00:07:13,610
the United States postal service
issued a set of stamps,
117
00:07:13,634 --> 00:07:16,646
and on each stamp,
they featured the spacecraft
118
00:07:16,670 --> 00:07:19,682
and mission that had been first
to that planet.
119
00:07:19,706 --> 00:07:22,886
But for pluto,
there had been no exploration.
120
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So they had this lame stamp.
121
00:07:26,380 --> 00:07:31,983
And that stamp became a dare
that we should finish this off.
122
00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:39,235
I knew there was a chance
that, in my lifetime,
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00:07:39,259 --> 00:07:45,175
in my career, we could send
a space probe off to pluto.
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00:07:45,199 --> 00:07:48,411
What we didn't know is we were
embarking on an adventure
125
00:07:48,435 --> 00:07:50,680
that would last
most of our careers.
126
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♪♪
127
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This path to pluto all began
with Clyde tombaugh.
128
00:07:59,646 --> 00:08:02,325
Clyde tombaugh
was an amazing person.
129
00:08:02,349 --> 00:08:04,194
Announcer: The United States
was in the grip
130
00:08:04,218 --> 00:08:05,962
of a paralyzing depression.
131
00:08:05,986 --> 00:08:10,033
Millions were unemployed,
on some form of relief.
132
00:08:10,057 --> 00:08:12,268
Grinspoon: He grew up very poor
133
00:08:12,292 --> 00:08:15,805
on a farm in Kansas
during the depression,
134
00:08:15,829 --> 00:08:18,842
and as a young kid
became enthralled with astronomy
135
00:08:18,866 --> 00:08:22,579
and was self-taught
from the local library.
136
00:08:22,603 --> 00:08:25,882
Narrator: In 1928, the young
farmer built a telescope
137
00:08:25,906 --> 00:08:28,351
using the crankshaft
of an old buick
138
00:08:28,375 --> 00:08:31,187
and pieces of farm equipment,
139
00:08:31,211 --> 00:08:32,722
he dreamed of being
an astronomer
140
00:08:32,746 --> 00:08:37,327
but had no plan, no idea
how this poor kid
141
00:08:37,351 --> 00:08:42,732
in depression-era Kansas
could ever get off the farm.
142
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Well, I was interested
in knowledge,
143
00:08:45,392 --> 00:08:47,770
and so, of course,
I was fascinated
144
00:08:47,794 --> 00:08:51,274
by what I saw in the sky.
145
00:08:51,298 --> 00:08:55,600
And so I made drawings
of Mars and Jupiter.
146
00:08:58,037 --> 00:08:59,682
Narrator:
Tombaugh sent his drawings off
147
00:08:59,706 --> 00:09:03,920
to the lowell observatory
in Arizona.
148
00:09:03,944 --> 00:09:05,955
They were so impressed
by his work
149
00:09:05,979 --> 00:09:08,892
that they offered him a job.
150
00:09:08,916 --> 00:09:12,061
The job was to go off
to search for the planet
151
00:09:12,085 --> 00:09:14,931
out beyond Neptune.
152
00:09:14,955 --> 00:09:16,633
Narrator: For decades,
there had been a theory
153
00:09:16,657 --> 00:09:19,558
about a hidden planet
out beyond Neptune.
154
00:09:22,662 --> 00:09:25,808
Percival lowell, a wealthy
businessman and astronomer,
155
00:09:25,832 --> 00:09:27,877
had become obsessed
with the theory
156
00:09:27,901 --> 00:09:29,612
and spent the latter part
of his life
157
00:09:29,636 --> 00:09:32,181
searching for
the mysterious planet,
158
00:09:32,205 --> 00:09:34,817
but never found it.
159
00:09:34,841 --> 00:09:38,288
After his death in 1916,
the lowell observatory
160
00:09:38,312 --> 00:09:41,112
that he had founded
continued the search.
161
00:09:43,849 --> 00:09:45,895
They had been trying,
early years, to find it,
162
00:09:45,919 --> 00:09:47,697
but without any success,
163
00:09:47,721 --> 00:09:50,555
and they weren't doing
too thorough a job of it either.
164
00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:58,174
You have to have a very strong
mental concentration,
165
00:09:58,198 --> 00:10:00,510
otherwise -- you can't
let your mind wander.
166
00:10:00,534 --> 00:10:03,246
You've got to be conscious
of seeing every star
167
00:10:03,270 --> 00:10:05,648
to see if it shifts.
168
00:10:05,672 --> 00:10:07,439
And that's very demanding.
169
00:10:11,711 --> 00:10:14,357
Narrator: It was a difficult,
painstaking task
170
00:10:14,381 --> 00:10:17,026
with a slim chance of success.
171
00:10:17,050 --> 00:10:19,295
Tombaugh used the telescope
172
00:10:19,319 --> 00:10:23,633
to photograph a tiny patch
of the sky onto glass plates.
173
00:10:23,657 --> 00:10:26,235
He studied the images
on a special machine
174
00:10:26,259 --> 00:10:28,871
in the hope that he would spot
the mysterious planet
175
00:10:28,895 --> 00:10:30,640
as it moved.
176
00:10:30,664 --> 00:10:33,142
But after searching
for nearly a year,
177
00:10:33,166 --> 00:10:35,011
he had still found nothing.
178
00:10:35,035 --> 00:10:40,817
♪♪
179
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Grinspoon: A lot of people
told him it was futile
180
00:10:42,909 --> 00:10:44,020
and that they would
never find it
181
00:10:44,044 --> 00:10:47,323
and people had already looked,
182
00:10:47,347 --> 00:10:49,481
but he was
incredibly fastidious.
183
00:10:51,550 --> 00:10:55,231
Narrator: It wouldn't be long
before his relentless work paid off
184
00:10:55,255 --> 00:10:58,390
and changed the solar system
as we know it.
185
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♪♪
186
00:11:06,833 --> 00:11:09,979
Clyde tombaugh
was an amazing person.
187
00:11:10,003 --> 00:11:12,148
Narrator: For decades,
there had been a theory
188
00:11:12,172 --> 00:11:16,352
about a hidden planet
out beyond Neptune.
189
00:11:16,376 --> 00:11:18,321
Grinspoon: A lot of people
told him it was futile
190
00:11:18,345 --> 00:11:19,589
and that they would
never find it,
191
00:11:19,613 --> 00:11:21,713
but he was
incredibly fastidious.
192
00:11:24,183 --> 00:11:27,263
Narrator:
On February 18th, 1930,
193
00:11:27,287 --> 00:11:29,599
he was comparing two
photographic plates
194
00:11:29,623 --> 00:11:33,536
taken in late January,
six days apart.
195
00:11:33,560 --> 00:11:37,095
He noticed a moving object,
so he checked it again.
196
00:11:41,100 --> 00:11:44,380
He photographed the patch
of sky a third time.
197
00:11:44,404 --> 00:11:46,382
That's when he realized
198
00:11:46,406 --> 00:11:49,641
he had found
a ninth planet beyond Neptune.
199
00:11:53,412 --> 00:11:55,447
Grinspoon: And then they
announced it to the world.
200
00:12:00,119 --> 00:12:04,300
Well, I think I just had to let
the younger men do it now,
201
00:12:04,324 --> 00:12:08,893
but I feel quite satisfied
with what I did in my lifetime.
202
00:12:12,665 --> 00:12:15,178
There's lots of interesting
things we can do.
203
00:12:15,202 --> 00:12:17,647
Perhaps the most important thing
is to look
204
00:12:17,671 --> 00:12:21,951
at what voyager did not do.
205
00:12:21,975 --> 00:12:24,554
It did not visit pluto.
206
00:12:24,578 --> 00:12:26,389
However,
there's the political problem
207
00:12:26,413 --> 00:12:31,961
of trying to sell a mission
that will have a 14-year cruise,
208
00:12:31,985 --> 00:12:34,864
will not return information
for 14 years.
209
00:12:34,888 --> 00:12:39,669
And when it does,
it'll be a half-hour flyby
210
00:12:39,693 --> 00:12:42,338
with a handful of pictures.
211
00:12:42,362 --> 00:12:44,841
You're not going to have
11 instruments.
212
00:12:44,865 --> 00:12:47,577
You're not gonna have
the data-taking capability
213
00:12:47,601 --> 00:12:48,845
of voyager.
214
00:12:48,869 --> 00:12:52,048
But remember those
nine pictures of triton?
215
00:12:52,072 --> 00:12:57,820
♪♪
216
00:12:57,844 --> 00:13:02,492
We have to cut back our
scientific desires to have more
217
00:13:02,516 --> 00:13:05,561
and just send it out
and take those pictures.
218
00:13:05,585 --> 00:13:07,497
Stern: It was really a group
of young scientists
219
00:13:07,521 --> 00:13:09,599
who wanted to ask NASA,
220
00:13:09,623 --> 00:13:12,468
"why aren't we going
to the last of the planets?"
221
00:13:12,492 --> 00:13:14,871
Bagenal: And so it was a bit
of an underground movement
222
00:13:14,895 --> 00:13:19,375
of people who were pushing
for this underdog, pluto.
223
00:13:19,399 --> 00:13:22,400
So we called ourselves
the pluto underground.
224
00:13:24,804 --> 00:13:28,518
In may of 1989,
I went to the top
225
00:13:28,542 --> 00:13:30,453
of the NASA planetary
exploration program
226
00:13:30,477 --> 00:13:31,954
to a man named Jeff Briggs.
227
00:13:31,978 --> 00:13:35,892
And just straight out asked him,
"how about a study
228
00:13:35,916 --> 00:13:39,362
of how to go explore
the last of the planets?"
229
00:13:39,386 --> 00:13:41,063
And to my complete surprise,
230
00:13:41,087 --> 00:13:44,066
he smiled and said, "you know,
that's a brilliant idea.
231
00:13:44,090 --> 00:13:46,469
No one has ever
asked me that before.
232
00:13:46,493 --> 00:13:48,070
I think we should study it."
233
00:13:48,094 --> 00:13:54,343
♪♪
234
00:13:54,367 --> 00:14:00,650
♪♪
235
00:14:00,674 --> 00:14:04,020
I met Dave is a graduate
student, and he was a professor,
236
00:14:04,044 --> 00:14:06,556
and I needed a project
to work on,
237
00:14:06,580 --> 00:14:09,525
and she came to me one day
and said, "you know, Dave,
238
00:14:09,549 --> 00:14:11,594
the thing I'm working on
is not going that well.
239
00:14:11,618 --> 00:14:13,029
Have you got any ideas?"
240
00:14:13,053 --> 00:14:15,097
And I said, yeah, I've been
thinking about searching
241
00:14:15,121 --> 00:14:16,332
"for things beyond saturn."
242
00:14:16,356 --> 00:14:19,569
And she said,
"okay, that'll be cool."
243
00:14:19,593 --> 00:14:21,704
Luu: They pointed out
that the outer solar system
244
00:14:21,728 --> 00:14:25,208
seemed rather empty compared
to the inner solar system.
245
00:14:25,232 --> 00:14:27,310
Jewitt:
Inside saturn, inside Jupiter,
246
00:14:27,334 --> 00:14:30,279
we knew of lots of asteroids
and comets
247
00:14:30,303 --> 00:14:31,747
and all the planets,
248
00:14:31,771 --> 00:14:33,282
and then beyond saturn,
nothing much --
249
00:14:33,306 --> 00:14:36,519
Just uranus, Neptune, and pluto.
250
00:14:36,543 --> 00:14:38,888
So he proposed that maybe
we should look
251
00:14:38,912 --> 00:14:44,026
in the outer solar system to see
if there were things out there.
252
00:14:44,050 --> 00:14:48,965
Narrator: Dave and Jane used the
mauna kea observatory in Hawaii.
253
00:14:48,989 --> 00:14:51,200
Jewitt:
Mauna kea's 14,000 feet high.
254
00:14:51,224 --> 00:14:52,869
It's above most of the clouds.
255
00:14:52,893 --> 00:14:56,239
It's above most of the water
vapor in the atmosphere.
256
00:14:56,263 --> 00:14:59,041
It's the second-best place
to put a telescope.
257
00:14:59,065 --> 00:15:00,943
First best would be in space.
258
00:15:00,967 --> 00:15:06,315
♪♪
259
00:15:06,339 --> 00:15:11,687
♪♪
260
00:15:11,711 --> 00:15:14,991
Luu: So many people would say,
"when are you going to stop?"
261
00:15:15,015 --> 00:15:16,559
We were looking for things
262
00:15:16,583 --> 00:15:20,062
that were not predicted
to exist by any theory.
263
00:15:20,086 --> 00:15:22,431
Jewitt: So we take a series
of pictures --
264
00:15:22,455 --> 00:15:25,268
Four pictures,
one after the other,
265
00:15:25,292 --> 00:15:26,802
and the stars and the galaxies,
266
00:15:26,826 --> 00:15:30,172
which are basically infinitely
far away, don't move,
267
00:15:30,196 --> 00:15:31,807
but anything
in the solar system moves
268
00:15:31,831 --> 00:15:33,175
'cause it's going
around the sun,
269
00:15:33,199 --> 00:15:35,311
and the speed depends
on its distance.
270
00:15:35,335 --> 00:15:38,915
And we look for anything
that is moving slowly
271
00:15:38,939 --> 00:15:41,851
with respect
to the stars and the galaxies.
272
00:15:41,875 --> 00:15:47,189
Every time we wanted to stop,
the technology would get better.
273
00:15:47,213 --> 00:15:50,192
Jewitt:
At the end of August in 1992,
274
00:15:50,216 --> 00:15:53,396
we took the first picture
and it came out,
275
00:15:53,420 --> 00:15:55,698
then the second picture
came out,
276
00:15:55,722 --> 00:15:58,734
and I pretty much immediately
saw this object
277
00:15:58,758 --> 00:16:01,003
that seemed to move
and it didn't move much.
278
00:16:01,027 --> 00:16:02,338
Luu: We were very excited
279
00:16:02,362 --> 00:16:05,675
because it was
the first believable candidate.
280
00:16:05,699 --> 00:16:07,543
Jewitt:
So the third picture came,
281
00:16:07,567 --> 00:16:10,346
and the third picture
showed that same object,
282
00:16:10,370 --> 00:16:11,881
but a little bit further over.
283
00:16:11,905 --> 00:16:15,685
[ Camera shutter clicks ]
284
00:16:15,709 --> 00:16:18,454
So the fourth image came out,
and it was just perfect.
285
00:16:18,478 --> 00:16:20,756
It was bang, bang, bang, bang,
286
00:16:20,780 --> 00:16:23,192
in a straight line,
going to the west,
287
00:16:23,216 --> 00:16:25,528
and during the whole time,
we're able to measure it.
288
00:16:25,552 --> 00:16:28,920
And its speed was just
a beautiful straight line.
289
00:16:31,023 --> 00:16:32,268
How could that possibly be real?
290
00:16:32,292 --> 00:16:33,636
Like, we've done this so much
291
00:16:33,660 --> 00:16:35,504
and there's just so much rubbish
that we get?
292
00:16:35,528 --> 00:16:37,306
How could this possibly be real?
293
00:16:37,330 --> 00:16:39,542
[ Laughs ] Yes.
294
00:16:39,566 --> 00:16:41,944
So we just took picture
after picture after picture
295
00:16:41,968 --> 00:16:45,648
after picture for the remaining
six hours of the night.
296
00:16:45,672 --> 00:16:52,989
♪♪
297
00:16:53,013 --> 00:17:00,262
♪♪
298
00:17:00,286 --> 00:17:03,699
Well, this changes our view of
the solar system fundamentally,
299
00:17:03,723 --> 00:17:06,969
that there's a whole new,
unexplored area out there
300
00:17:06,993 --> 00:17:08,270
of objects.
301
00:17:08,294 --> 00:17:11,173
It was really clear that
this was a major breakthrough.
302
00:17:11,197 --> 00:17:14,944
There are 100,000 objects
in the kuiper belt
303
00:17:14,968 --> 00:17:17,747
bigger than 60 miles across,
304
00:17:17,771 --> 00:17:20,649
and there's a billion objects
in the kuiper belt
305
00:17:20,673 --> 00:17:23,753
bigger than about a mile across.
306
00:17:23,777 --> 00:17:26,222
Grinspoon: Pluto is not just
some weird fringe oddball
307
00:17:26,246 --> 00:17:29,325
by itself out on the outer
fringes of the solar system,
308
00:17:29,349 --> 00:17:32,762
but in fact was
the largest member
309
00:17:32,786 --> 00:17:35,831
of this massive
domain of objects.
310
00:17:35,855 --> 00:17:39,435
That clearly is important
in the story
311
00:17:39,459 --> 00:17:41,637
of how the solar system
came to be.
312
00:17:41,661 --> 00:17:49,661
♪♪
313
00:17:50,904 --> 00:17:58,904
♪♪
314
00:18:00,213 --> 00:18:02,691
Stern: The competition
was really intense,
315
00:18:02,715 --> 00:18:06,195
five teams formed,
and frankly, of the five,
316
00:18:06,219 --> 00:18:10,900
our team was the David
in a David and Goliath battle.
317
00:18:10,924 --> 00:18:15,638
We had the least experience, but
probably the highest motivation.
318
00:18:15,662 --> 00:18:18,407
...no humans really could
glimpse as a real planet.
319
00:18:18,431 --> 00:18:21,510
One of the first things
that we had to do
320
00:18:21,534 --> 00:18:23,446
was to find a name for it.
321
00:18:23,470 --> 00:18:25,448
And when I was on a long run
322
00:18:25,472 --> 00:18:27,716
across my hometown,
Boulder, Colorado,
323
00:18:27,740 --> 00:18:32,088
and I turned around to the west
and saw the rocky mountains.
324
00:18:32,112 --> 00:18:36,681
And I thought, "this is
a mission of new horizons."
325
00:18:39,818 --> 00:18:42,965
Bagenal: We designed our mission
as best we could --
326
00:18:42,989 --> 00:18:45,000
Not too much,
but not too little.
327
00:18:45,024 --> 00:18:47,937
Just get it right.
328
00:18:47,961 --> 00:18:50,606
These proposals are
phone-book thick
329
00:18:50,630 --> 00:18:52,675
engineering
and technical documents.
330
00:18:52,699 --> 00:18:53,876
There's a lot of work
331
00:18:53,900 --> 00:18:56,045
that goes into
putting one of these together.
332
00:18:56,069 --> 00:19:01,450
♪♪
333
00:19:01,474 --> 00:19:07,690
On November the 29th, 2001,
after 300 days of competition,
334
00:19:07,714 --> 00:19:10,126
I was at a planetary
science meeting,
335
00:19:10,150 --> 00:19:13,863
and a NASA scientists came to me
and said,
336
00:19:13,887 --> 00:19:15,753
"there's a phone call for you."
337
00:19:18,991 --> 00:19:24,273
And I knew at that moment
that that phone call was
338
00:19:24,297 --> 00:19:25,674
the decision.
339
00:19:25,698 --> 00:19:29,311
We would find out
if we had won or lost.
340
00:19:29,335 --> 00:19:33,182
And I picked up the phone,
and time telescoped.
341
00:19:33,206 --> 00:19:35,151
It slowed down
for me incredibly,
342
00:19:35,175 --> 00:19:36,919
and I knew that within moments,
343
00:19:36,943 --> 00:19:40,411
my life would change
one way or the other.
344
00:19:46,218 --> 00:19:48,264
Stern: It was really a group
of young scientists
345
00:19:48,288 --> 00:19:50,466
who wanted to ask NASA,
346
00:19:50,490 --> 00:19:53,335
"why aren't we going
the last of the planets?"
347
00:19:53,359 --> 00:19:55,504
Bagenal: And so it was a bit
of an underground movement
348
00:19:55,528 --> 00:19:59,664
of people who were pushing
for this underdog, pluto.
349
00:20:04,136 --> 00:20:06,615
Stern: On November the 29th,
2001,
350
00:20:06,639 --> 00:20:10,152
after 300 days of competition,
351
00:20:10,176 --> 00:20:13,222
a NASA scientist came to me
and said,
352
00:20:13,246 --> 00:20:14,946
"there's a phone call for you."
353
00:20:18,217 --> 00:20:22,932
And I knew at that moment
that that phone call was
354
00:20:22,956 --> 00:20:24,667
the decision.
355
00:20:24,691 --> 00:20:28,737
And fortunately,
the phone call was a good one,
356
00:20:28,761 --> 00:20:30,628
and we found out we had won.
357
00:20:34,433 --> 00:20:37,012
It was all systems go
to build the spacecraft
358
00:20:37,036 --> 00:20:39,114
and to make it happen.
359
00:20:39,138 --> 00:20:42,351
We were actually going to have
an opportunity
360
00:20:42,375 --> 00:20:47,957
to do something that had been
our ambition for 14 years.
361
00:20:47,981 --> 00:20:49,925
Grinspoon: Then they actually
have to build it
362
00:20:49,949 --> 00:20:52,995
and make it succeed,
and they're on a ticking clock.
363
00:20:53,019 --> 00:20:54,919
[ Machinery whirs ]
364
00:20:56,822 --> 00:20:59,134
Weaver: All of the challenges
associated with building
365
00:20:59,158 --> 00:21:00,402
a spacecraft
366
00:21:00,426 --> 00:21:03,739
that was small enough,
used little enough power
367
00:21:03,763 --> 00:21:07,042
that we could perform when
the light levels are so low --
368
00:21:07,066 --> 00:21:09,734
It was just technically
very challenging.
369
00:21:11,770 --> 00:21:14,450
Stern: Well, you know, the key
to planetary science is
370
00:21:14,474 --> 00:21:17,386
that you really have to go
places to get the resolution
371
00:21:17,410 --> 00:21:19,922
to get up close enough
to really see what's going on.
372
00:21:19,946 --> 00:21:22,024
We want to get up
close and personal.
373
00:21:22,048 --> 00:21:29,798
♪♪
374
00:21:29,822 --> 00:21:33,636
Spencer: The new horizon
spacecraft is a small spacecraft,
375
00:21:33,660 --> 00:21:35,271
and then we put it
on the biggest rocket
376
00:21:35,295 --> 00:21:39,141
that we had available from NASA
at the time, the atlas 5.
377
00:21:39,165 --> 00:21:47,165
♪♪
378
00:21:47,273 --> 00:21:50,519
Buie: We had a number of days
where everything's lining up,
379
00:21:50,543 --> 00:21:52,388
and then somewhere
along the way,
380
00:21:52,412 --> 00:21:54,923
somebody said, "no, can't go."
381
00:21:54,947 --> 00:21:57,926
That got to be the pattern.
382
00:21:57,950 --> 00:22:03,332
Man: 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6...
383
00:22:03,356 --> 00:22:06,368
Buie: I remember, on that one
day, the clock's counting down,
384
00:22:06,392 --> 00:22:08,037
and it's getting lower
and lower,
385
00:22:08,061 --> 00:22:09,772
and they're not stopping,
and I said, "wow,
386
00:22:09,796 --> 00:22:11,473
if they don't stop this,
actually,
387
00:22:11,497 --> 00:22:14,209
they're gonna have to
send it off."
388
00:22:14,233 --> 00:22:19,214
Man: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
389
00:22:19,238 --> 00:22:21,283
We have ignition.
390
00:22:21,307 --> 00:22:22,451
Woman: Yes!
391
00:22:22,475 --> 00:22:24,153
Whoo!
392
00:22:24,177 --> 00:22:25,976
Whoo!
393
00:22:27,546 --> 00:22:29,091
Buie: And sure enough,
394
00:22:29,115 --> 00:22:32,450
that thing took off
like nobody's business.
395
00:22:35,454 --> 00:22:39,101
Weaver:
We had a picture perfect launch.
396
00:22:39,125 --> 00:22:41,370
At 11:00 P.M.,
I was out on the balcony
397
00:22:41,394 --> 00:22:43,928
of the hotel where I was staying
at cape canaveral...
398
00:22:46,732 --> 00:22:48,844
...just looking up and seeing
the beautiful, bright moon,
399
00:22:48,868 --> 00:22:51,280
and the spacecraft
was passing, you know,
400
00:22:51,304 --> 00:22:53,649
the orbit of the moon
at that time already.
401
00:22:53,673 --> 00:22:55,250
I mean, usually, it took
the Apollo astronauts
402
00:22:55,274 --> 00:22:56,885
three days to get there.
403
00:22:56,909 --> 00:23:00,522
So we knew we were speeding on
to our destination.
404
00:23:00,546 --> 00:23:08,546
♪♪
405
00:23:08,654 --> 00:23:16,654
♪♪
406
00:23:16,796 --> 00:23:20,042
Flying past Jupiter allowed
us to check out our instruments.
407
00:23:20,066 --> 00:23:27,216
♪♪
408
00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:34,390
♪♪
409
00:23:34,414 --> 00:23:41,597
♪♪
410
00:23:41,621 --> 00:23:45,033
Buie: New horizons flew by
Jupiter and took advantage
411
00:23:45,057 --> 00:23:49,905
of a particular trick
called a gravity assist.
412
00:23:49,929 --> 00:23:52,341
So if you imagine --
Jupiter moving along,
413
00:23:52,365 --> 00:23:54,276
and new horizons
is catching up to it,
414
00:23:54,300 --> 00:24:00,048
and Jupiter pulls it forward
and then bends the orbit,
415
00:24:00,072 --> 00:24:01,817
and as they keep going,
416
00:24:01,841 --> 00:24:05,954
that interchange will add
a little bit more velocity
417
00:24:05,978 --> 00:24:10,459
to the speed of new horizons.
418
00:24:10,483 --> 00:24:12,795
Spacecraft is outward bound
from Jupiter,
419
00:24:12,819 --> 00:24:14,329
and we're on our way to pluto.
420
00:24:14,353 --> 00:24:16,198
Congratulations. All right.
421
00:24:16,222 --> 00:24:18,967
We shaved a couple of years
off the flight time,
422
00:24:18,991 --> 00:24:20,991
but it was still
a very long haul.
423
00:24:24,796 --> 00:24:28,076
Grinspoon: It was another eight
years from there to pluto,
424
00:24:28,100 --> 00:24:31,747
so they pioneered this technique
of hibernation,
425
00:24:31,771 --> 00:24:34,583
where you put the spacecraft
to sleep first for a day
426
00:24:34,607 --> 00:24:37,208
and then for a week
and then for weeks.
427
00:24:41,146 --> 00:24:44,159
And it's just sending back
a beacon, a beep.
428
00:24:44,183 --> 00:24:45,583
[ Beeps ]
429
00:24:49,488 --> 00:24:51,489
[ Beeps ]
430
00:24:54,659 --> 00:25:00,008
There was this issue about what
a planet should or shouldn't be
431
00:25:00,032 --> 00:25:02,478
and whether pluto was one.
432
00:25:02,502 --> 00:25:04,880
Luu: Didn't seem right
to call pluto a planet
433
00:25:04,904 --> 00:25:08,584
when there were like thousands
of other objects like it.
434
00:25:08,608 --> 00:25:12,354
It's a big kuiper belt object,
but it's a kuiper belt object.
435
00:25:12,378 --> 00:25:14,022
There's no doubt about that.
436
00:25:14,046 --> 00:25:16,258
And so the astronomers
had a vote.
437
00:25:16,282 --> 00:25:17,459
[ Chuckles ]
438
00:25:17,483 --> 00:25:19,561
Which is ludicrous in itself.
439
00:25:19,585 --> 00:25:22,898
They had a vote on whether
pluto was a planet.
440
00:25:22,922 --> 00:25:27,035
And the idea of voting
in science -- it's just crazy.
441
00:25:27,059 --> 00:25:30,506
Since when do we vote
about scientific fact?
442
00:25:30,530 --> 00:25:38,530
♪♪
443
00:25:39,071 --> 00:25:42,651
In the scientific community,
444
00:25:42,675 --> 00:25:47,456
most planetary scientists
simply ignore it.
445
00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:49,691
Olkin: I was so excited
when I had the opportunity
446
00:25:49,715 --> 00:25:51,093
to join this mission.
447
00:25:51,117 --> 00:25:53,128
I had been studying
pluto for years,
448
00:25:53,152 --> 00:25:55,063
using ground-based telescopes,
449
00:25:55,087 --> 00:25:57,533
trying to understand
what was going on
450
00:25:57,557 --> 00:26:00,435
in this fuzzy point of light.
451
00:26:00,459 --> 00:26:02,938
Narrator: The hubble telescope
produced the first image
452
00:26:02,962 --> 00:26:05,007
that illuminated pluto.
453
00:26:05,031 --> 00:26:07,910
This image was made up
of just eight pixels,
454
00:26:07,934 --> 00:26:13,315
one pixel per 151 square miles
of pluto's surface.
455
00:26:13,339 --> 00:26:16,351
And to be able to have a part
in the new horizons mission,
456
00:26:16,375 --> 00:26:19,021
where we got to turn pluto
from a point of light
457
00:26:19,045 --> 00:26:24,393
into a world where we're mapping
the surface, is amazing
458
00:26:24,417 --> 00:26:26,395
buie:
Because it's a flyby mission.
459
00:26:26,419 --> 00:26:29,898
We knew we were gonna get
a really good shot
460
00:26:29,922 --> 00:26:32,501
at one half of pluto.
461
00:26:32,525 --> 00:26:36,594
The other half -- we would see
it, but it would be blurry.
462
00:26:38,797 --> 00:26:42,210
One of the projects
was to take images
463
00:26:42,234 --> 00:26:45,247
with the hubble space telescope,
464
00:26:45,271 --> 00:26:49,451
and figured out a map,
465
00:26:49,475 --> 00:26:52,621
but pluto is so far away
and so tiny
466
00:26:52,645 --> 00:26:53,922
that, even with hubble,
467
00:26:53,946 --> 00:26:58,627
it's very, very difficult
to get any information.
468
00:26:58,651 --> 00:27:03,498
It took about six or seven years
worth of computer processing
469
00:27:03,522 --> 00:27:05,222
to get the maps out.
470
00:27:07,993 --> 00:27:12,140
I think this map is probably
the best map
471
00:27:12,164 --> 00:27:16,044
we're gonna get prior
to the spacecraft getting there.
472
00:27:16,068 --> 00:27:18,914
I said, "here's the deal."
473
00:27:18,938 --> 00:27:22,384
I can tell you right now
where you need to go.
474
00:27:22,408 --> 00:27:25,654
There's one patch of pluto
that's the brightest part
475
00:27:25,678 --> 00:27:26,888
of the body.
476
00:27:26,912 --> 00:27:28,190
Right next to it
477
00:27:28,214 --> 00:27:32,227
is one of the darkest areas
on the entire surface.
478
00:27:32,251 --> 00:27:34,997
You're gonna see
the darkest stuff,
479
00:27:35,021 --> 00:27:36,398
you're gonna see
the brightest stuff,
480
00:27:36,422 --> 00:27:38,967
and you're gonna see
the contact in between,
481
00:27:38,991 --> 00:27:42,793
and then all
the northern polar areas.
482
00:27:46,564 --> 00:27:49,044
Narrator:
On the fourth of July, 2015,
483
00:27:49,068 --> 00:27:50,846
new horizons had been journeying
484
00:27:50,870 --> 00:27:54,204
towards its target of pluto
for over nine years.
485
00:27:57,308 --> 00:28:00,255
As the rest of the country
celebrates the holiday
486
00:28:00,279 --> 00:28:02,758
and with only 10 days to go,
487
00:28:02,782 --> 00:28:05,527
Alice bowman,
the mission operations manager,
488
00:28:05,551 --> 00:28:08,096
was preparing to upload
the main flyby sequence
489
00:28:08,120 --> 00:28:11,055
that would direct new horizons
towards pluto.
490
00:28:14,526 --> 00:28:17,439
There are a number of gates
that we go through
491
00:28:17,463 --> 00:28:20,142
when we establish communications
with the spacecraft.
492
00:28:20,166 --> 00:28:22,310
You know, you see
the first gate locked,
493
00:28:22,334 --> 00:28:24,880
the second gate locked,
the third gate locked,
494
00:28:24,904 --> 00:28:28,483
and that's when
you get your telemetry.
495
00:28:28,507 --> 00:28:34,456
Narrator: But at 1:54 in the
afternoon, their worst fears come true.
496
00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:37,759
We went out of lock,
the next one went out of lock,
497
00:28:37,783 --> 00:28:41,697
and then we lost
the last one out of lock.
498
00:28:41,721 --> 00:28:43,832
Stern: I got a phone call
from our project manager,
499
00:28:43,856 --> 00:28:49,271
saying something I almost
couldn't process the words for.
500
00:28:49,295 --> 00:28:52,563
He said to me, "Alan, we've lost
contact with the spacecraft."
501
00:28:58,837 --> 00:29:01,383
Narrator:
On the fourth of July, 2015,
502
00:29:01,407 --> 00:29:03,719
new horizons had spent
nine years
503
00:29:03,743 --> 00:29:06,521
journeying towards pluto.
504
00:29:06,545 --> 00:29:10,759
It was just 10 days away
from reaching its target.
505
00:29:10,783 --> 00:29:12,828
Stern: I got a phone call
from our project manager,
506
00:29:12,852 --> 00:29:17,699
saying, "Alan, we've lost
contact with the spacecraft."
507
00:29:17,723 --> 00:29:20,135
I had people that were
very upset
508
00:29:20,159 --> 00:29:22,838
that I needed to calm down
and have them focus,
509
00:29:22,862 --> 00:29:25,307
'cause I needed their expertise.
510
00:29:25,331 --> 00:29:27,442
Narrator:
Just over an hour later,
511
00:29:27,466 --> 00:29:30,612
at 11 minutes past 3:00
in the afternoon,
512
00:29:30,636 --> 00:29:35,083
the team reestablished
communication with new horizons.
513
00:29:35,107 --> 00:29:37,519
But the problems
were far from over.
514
00:29:37,543 --> 00:29:41,145
The spacecraft reports on
its status, and it was bad news.
515
00:29:43,782 --> 00:29:46,862
The spacecraft had overloaded
a computer memory
516
00:29:46,886 --> 00:29:50,799
and rebooted itself while this
uplink was happening,
517
00:29:50,823 --> 00:29:53,401
of core commands for
the encounter sequence,
518
00:29:53,425 --> 00:29:57,739
and all of that software
was lost.
519
00:29:57,763 --> 00:30:01,109
Narrator: The team had just three
days to rewrite the flyby sequence
520
00:30:01,133 --> 00:30:04,312
and upload it to the spacecraft.
521
00:30:04,336 --> 00:30:07,404
Otherwise, new horizons
would miss pluto.
522
00:30:10,308 --> 00:30:14,856
We knew that if we could
not fix this problem,
523
00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:19,194
that everything we had invested
in the previous 26 years --
524
00:30:19,218 --> 00:30:23,420
All of that was for nothing
unless we could fix the problem.
525
00:30:25,456 --> 00:30:28,904
So it was necessary
to reboot the computer
526
00:30:28,928 --> 00:30:31,573
and then start rewriting
some of that software
527
00:30:31,597 --> 00:30:38,446
and finding the right files and
reloading those core sequences,
528
00:30:38,470 --> 00:30:40,470
narrator:
But that process took time.
529
00:30:43,474 --> 00:30:46,944
It takes nine hours just to say,
"hey, are you okay?"
530
00:30:49,747 --> 00:30:51,726
You know, nine hours later,
the spacecraft goes,
531
00:30:51,750 --> 00:30:54,362
"yeah, I'm here.
What should I do?"
532
00:30:54,386 --> 00:30:58,200
We all felt that sense
of a ticking clock.
533
00:30:58,224 --> 00:30:59,835
Grinspoon:
People were sleeping on desks.
534
00:30:59,859 --> 00:31:01,859
People were sleeping
on the floor.
535
00:31:05,330 --> 00:31:07,275
Bowman: This is our mission.
536
00:31:07,299 --> 00:31:10,278
We have flown nine
and a half years,
537
00:31:10,302 --> 00:31:13,415
and none of us
were going to give up --
538
00:31:13,439 --> 00:31:16,818
None of us.
539
00:31:16,842 --> 00:31:18,854
Narrator:
After three grueling days,
540
00:31:18,878 --> 00:31:22,357
the team waited for new horizons
to respond
541
00:31:22,381 --> 00:31:26,728
and find out
if they had saved the mission.
542
00:31:26,752 --> 00:31:31,221
[ Speaking indistinctly ]
543
00:31:33,124 --> 00:31:34,291
Here we go.
544
00:31:37,028 --> 00:31:39,674
Bowman: We saw that
the spacecraft had transitioned
545
00:31:39,698 --> 00:31:42,744
into that mode
to accomplish the flyby,
546
00:31:42,768 --> 00:31:44,701
and it was pretty amazing.
547
00:31:46,771 --> 00:31:49,050
Narrator: With the flyby
sequence initiated,
548
00:31:49,074 --> 00:31:51,686
new horizons turned
toward pluto.
549
00:31:51,710 --> 00:31:59,160
♪♪
550
00:31:59,184 --> 00:32:02,197
Bowman: When people ask me
what my favorite picture is
551
00:32:02,221 --> 00:32:03,932
of the pluto system --
552
00:32:03,956 --> 00:32:05,901
It's that blurry picture,
553
00:32:05,925 --> 00:32:09,237
the first one
that comes down on July 7th.
554
00:32:09,261 --> 00:32:12,474
That's a representation
of what we had accomplished
555
00:32:12,498 --> 00:32:16,845
and what we were
going to accomplish.
556
00:32:16,869 --> 00:32:18,146
It's one of those moments
557
00:32:18,170 --> 00:32:21,182
that you will never forget
in your whole life.
558
00:32:21,206 --> 00:32:24,241
[ Dance music plays,
indistinct conversations ]
559
00:32:26,844 --> 00:32:29,658
That I had been working
my entire career
560
00:32:29,682 --> 00:32:32,227
leading up to this moment
of time.
561
00:32:32,251 --> 00:32:40,251
All: 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!
562
00:32:40,492 --> 00:32:43,571
[ Cheers and applause ]
563
00:32:43,595 --> 00:32:47,943
Narrator: On July 14th, 2015,
new horizons signal to earth
564
00:32:47,967 --> 00:32:51,179
that it had successfully
flown by pluto,
565
00:32:51,203 --> 00:32:53,348
but the team had to wait
nine more hours
566
00:32:53,372 --> 00:32:56,551
due to the vast distance
between earth and pluto
567
00:32:56,575 --> 00:32:58,887
to find out
if they had achieved their goal
568
00:32:58,911 --> 00:33:01,923
of photographing
this far-off world.
569
00:33:01,947 --> 00:33:09,947
♪♪
570
00:33:10,189 --> 00:33:18,189
♪♪
571
00:33:18,430 --> 00:33:19,908
Bagenal: So there we were
572
00:33:19,932 --> 00:33:23,411
at Johns Hopkins applied
physics lab
573
00:33:23,435 --> 00:33:26,748
with all the press
and the family and friends
574
00:33:26,772 --> 00:33:29,851
and a whole bunch of people
who were just dying to know
575
00:33:29,875 --> 00:33:31,586
what pluto's like.
576
00:33:31,610 --> 00:33:33,588
Weaver: When we finally
get that image down
577
00:33:33,612 --> 00:33:37,092
and we displayed it
on the monitor,
578
00:33:37,116 --> 00:33:38,782
it was unbelievable.
579
00:33:40,418 --> 00:33:46,234
♪♪
580
00:33:46,258 --> 00:33:48,303
Bagenal: So there we were
581
00:33:48,327 --> 00:33:51,806
at Johns Hopkins
applied physics lab
582
00:33:51,830 --> 00:33:55,210
and with all the press
and the family and friends
583
00:33:55,234 --> 00:33:58,113
and a whole bunch of people
who were just dying to know
584
00:33:58,137 --> 00:34:00,015
what pluto's like.
585
00:34:00,039 --> 00:34:02,050
Weaver: When we finally
get that image down
586
00:34:02,074 --> 00:34:06,087
and we displayed
on the monitor...
587
00:34:06,111 --> 00:34:07,789
It was unbelievable.
588
00:34:07,813 --> 00:34:15,813
♪♪
589
00:34:16,989 --> 00:34:20,502
[ Cheers and applause ]
590
00:34:20,526 --> 00:34:26,207
♪♪
591
00:34:26,231 --> 00:34:29,511
The whole team is like...
592
00:34:29,535 --> 00:34:32,480
Aghast at this beautiful image.
593
00:34:32,504 --> 00:34:40,504
♪♪
594
00:34:40,646 --> 00:34:42,991
It was just extraordinary.
595
00:34:43,015 --> 00:34:46,249
This was a whole new world.
596
00:34:49,887 --> 00:34:53,757
Narrator: Just as voyager had
revealed at Neptune's moon triton...
597
00:34:55,893 --> 00:34:58,173
New horizons images
showed a world
598
00:34:58,197 --> 00:35:00,497
that was geologically active.
599
00:35:03,968 --> 00:35:06,681
Stern: Mountains and ravines
and glaciers
600
00:35:06,705 --> 00:35:10,251
and all sorts of indications
of activity
601
00:35:10,275 --> 00:35:13,788
and physics
taking place on the surface.
602
00:35:13,812 --> 00:35:15,356
It just blew us away.
603
00:35:15,380 --> 00:35:21,996
♪♪
604
00:35:22,020 --> 00:35:28,703
♪♪
605
00:35:28,727 --> 00:35:30,839
Bagenal: Pluto has mountains.
606
00:35:30,863 --> 00:35:32,507
But these aren't
ordinary mountains.
607
00:35:32,531 --> 00:35:35,777
These are mountains of ice --
Water ice --
608
00:35:35,801 --> 00:35:38,847
That are sticking up
the size of the rockies --
609
00:35:38,871 --> 00:35:41,916
Huge, big mountains.
610
00:35:41,940 --> 00:35:44,786
Grinspoon: And pluto,
as Alan is always saying,
611
00:35:44,810 --> 00:35:46,955
is the Everest
of the solar system --
612
00:35:46,979 --> 00:35:50,692
The farthest and coldest
and hardest to reach.
613
00:35:50,716 --> 00:35:55,763
And so these mountain ranges
were named norgay and Hillary,
614
00:35:55,787 --> 00:35:58,733
after the original explorers
of Everest.
615
00:35:58,757 --> 00:36:00,268
Many of the features on pluto
616
00:36:00,292 --> 00:36:01,903
were named
after famous explorers
617
00:36:01,927 --> 00:36:04,272
and famous vessels
of exploration.
618
00:36:04,296 --> 00:36:09,511
♪♪
619
00:36:09,535 --> 00:36:14,816
♪♪
620
00:36:14,840 --> 00:36:18,286
As we were flying up to pluto
and imaging it
621
00:36:18,310 --> 00:36:20,955
day after day
and week after week on approach,
622
00:36:20,979 --> 00:36:25,026
we could see this bright feature
on the surface.
623
00:36:25,050 --> 00:36:30,598
♪♪
624
00:36:30,622 --> 00:36:33,168
One morning,
we got an image back,
625
00:36:33,192 --> 00:36:35,603
and as soon as it came up
on the big screen,
626
00:36:35,627 --> 00:36:40,141
I remember a NASA official
who said, "do you see that?
627
00:36:40,165 --> 00:36:41,798
Looks like a heart."
628
00:36:44,001 --> 00:36:46,648
And as we got closer
and closer, amazingly,
629
00:36:46,672 --> 00:36:51,419
it looked more
and more like a heart.
630
00:36:51,443 --> 00:36:55,256
I think that's what emblazoned
pluto into the public mind
631
00:36:55,280 --> 00:36:59,561
as this amazing place at the
frontier of our solar system.
632
00:36:59,585 --> 00:37:03,898
Narrator: Pluto's heart extends
approximately 1,000 miles across
633
00:37:03,922 --> 00:37:07,135
and is composed of nitrogen ice.
634
00:37:07,159 --> 00:37:11,739
We believe that structure
might be supported by water
635
00:37:11,763 --> 00:37:13,330
underneath the surface.
636
00:37:15,933 --> 00:37:19,869
There could be an ocean
underneath pluto's surface.
637
00:37:22,206 --> 00:37:24,986
Buie: It's is one of those
things where, if you find water,
638
00:37:25,010 --> 00:37:26,521
is there a chance for life?
639
00:37:26,545 --> 00:37:27,889
Wouldn't that be cool,
640
00:37:27,913 --> 00:37:30,925
if pluto's actually one of those
places in the solar system
641
00:37:30,949 --> 00:37:33,628
that has or had life on it,
642
00:37:33,652 --> 00:37:37,131
even out at the outer reaches
of the solar system?
643
00:37:37,155 --> 00:37:39,601
That's just mind blowing
right there.
644
00:37:39,625 --> 00:37:43,605
Narrator: Yet new horizons would
make even more unexpected discoveries
645
00:37:43,629 --> 00:37:46,997
as it journeyed further out
into the solar system.
646
00:37:50,268 --> 00:37:55,383
♪♪
647
00:37:55,407 --> 00:37:57,252
Bagenal: When we flew behind
648
00:37:57,276 --> 00:38:00,810
and we looked
at the sun go behind pluto...
649
00:38:05,082 --> 00:38:08,162
...we saw this big ring
of blue sky --
650
00:38:08,186 --> 00:38:11,132
A haze in the upper atmosphere.
651
00:38:11,156 --> 00:38:17,038
♪♪
652
00:38:17,062 --> 00:38:20,608
Narrator: New horizons continued
farther into the kuiper belt.
653
00:38:20,632 --> 00:38:26,748
♪♪
654
00:38:26,772 --> 00:38:28,516
And three and a half years
later,
655
00:38:28,540 --> 00:38:31,085
on new year's day, 2019,
656
00:38:31,109 --> 00:38:33,554
it reached a small kuiper belt
object
657
00:38:33,578 --> 00:38:35,723
officially named arrokoth.
658
00:38:35,747 --> 00:38:41,362
♪♪
659
00:38:41,386 --> 00:38:43,398
Stern: With the spacecraft
now a billion miles
660
00:38:43,422 --> 00:38:44,632
farther out than pluto,
661
00:38:44,656 --> 00:38:49,570
here was this fantastically
complex object.
662
00:38:49,594 --> 00:38:53,508
It's in a very special category
of objects
663
00:38:53,532 --> 00:38:55,943
out in the kuiper belt
beyond Neptune.
664
00:38:55,967 --> 00:38:58,913
These are objects we call
the cold classical objects.
665
00:38:58,937 --> 00:39:02,116
These are objects that are
in very flat circular orbits
666
00:39:02,140 --> 00:39:05,486
that are all traveling
around the sun
667
00:39:05,510 --> 00:39:07,422
pretty much parallel
to each other.
668
00:39:07,446 --> 00:39:09,924
They very rarely run
into each other.
669
00:39:09,948 --> 00:39:12,393
And they clearly have been
in these orbits
670
00:39:12,417 --> 00:39:14,762
since the formation
of the solar system.
671
00:39:14,786 --> 00:39:19,801
That's the only way they can
have such undisturbed orbits.
672
00:39:19,825 --> 00:39:22,570
Olkin: These are the building
blocks of solar system formation,
673
00:39:22,594 --> 00:39:24,906
they're the things
that didn't get accreted
674
00:39:24,930 --> 00:39:27,408
into the giant planets
in the terrestrial planet.
675
00:39:27,432 --> 00:39:29,711
So they're the leftovers
out in the deep freeze
676
00:39:29,735 --> 00:39:31,201
of our solar system.
677
00:39:35,806 --> 00:39:39,554
Narrator: These images reveal
that arrokoth is made of two objects
678
00:39:39,578 --> 00:39:41,244
that are joined together.
679
00:39:44,782 --> 00:39:47,195
Buie: This can't be done
680
00:39:47,219 --> 00:39:52,467
without a very, very, very
slow merging of the two objects.
681
00:39:52,491 --> 00:39:58,072
♪♪
682
00:39:58,096 --> 00:40:00,875
Realizing, "boy,
this is how you make planets."
683
00:40:00,899 --> 00:40:03,845
You have to take small objects
and bring them together gently
684
00:40:03,869 --> 00:40:05,246
so they will stick
685
00:40:05,270 --> 00:40:08,216
and won't just smash each other
to pieces,
686
00:40:08,240 --> 00:40:10,718
and so you can build up things
into larger objects
687
00:40:10,742 --> 00:40:13,488
"and eventually end up with
things the size of the earth."
688
00:40:13,512 --> 00:40:16,691
And here we were, seeing
that process
689
00:40:16,715 --> 00:40:19,560
for the first time
in a real object
690
00:40:19,584 --> 00:40:24,132
that had been frozen in the
early stages of that process.
691
00:40:24,156 --> 00:40:28,002
Super exciting to be able to
take science by leaps and bounds
692
00:40:28,026 --> 00:40:30,738
just from a short period of time
693
00:40:30,762 --> 00:40:32,340
where we're getting data.
694
00:40:32,364 --> 00:40:39,947
♪♪
695
00:40:39,971 --> 00:40:43,751
Just goes to show that
this kind of exploration
696
00:40:43,775 --> 00:40:45,420
can really bring people together
697
00:40:45,444 --> 00:40:49,090
no matter
where you are in the world.
698
00:40:49,114 --> 00:40:50,258
[ Cheers and applause ]
699
00:40:50,282 --> 00:40:53,594
Do what you're passionate about.
700
00:40:53,618 --> 00:40:56,664
Don't do something
because it's easy.
701
00:40:56,688 --> 00:41:01,169
We've opened up a new realm
of the solar system,
702
00:41:01,193 --> 00:41:03,404
a new realm of human discovery.
703
00:41:03,428 --> 00:41:05,406
A half-century-long endeavor
704
00:41:05,430 --> 00:41:09,710
that will forever be
a legacy of our time.
705
00:41:09,734 --> 00:41:13,815
We changed the world
a little bit for the better,
706
00:41:13,839 --> 00:41:16,217
and we made a little
something called "history."
707
00:41:16,241 --> 00:41:23,157
♪♪
708
00:41:23,181 --> 00:41:26,160
There is no end
to the discoveries
709
00:41:26,184 --> 00:41:30,731
that we can make out here
in the solar system.
710
00:41:30,755 --> 00:41:32,633
We are just getting started.
711
00:41:32,657 --> 00:41:37,171
♪♪
712
00:41:37,195 --> 00:41:39,229
[ Cheers and applause ]
713
00:41:41,432 --> 00:41:45,012
When you have a dream --
Something in your heart --
714
00:41:45,036 --> 00:41:47,348
You should follow your heart.
715
00:41:47,372 --> 00:41:48,950
I never grew up
716
00:41:48,974 --> 00:41:52,153
thinking that I would be a part
of something like that.
717
00:41:52,177 --> 00:41:57,425
But now, looking back, I realize
everyday people make history.
718
00:41:57,449 --> 00:42:04,687
♪♪