Now the Fun Begins!

Well. Today is the first day of the post-Pluto reconnaissance world. We now have nine explored planets, thanks to New Horizons. It showed us a LOT about what Pluto is like and there’s more to come! You should really keep your eyes on the New Horizons web site over the next year and a half, as the mission team releases new images and reports on their other major data streams about the planet and its moons. Of course, I’ll write about it, too. The story is just too tantalizing to ignore. It’s THAT good.

The Experience of Pluto on Flyby Day

Yesterday was a tour de force. We were there beginning around 7 a.m., where we witnessed the moment of flyby with 1,500 other family members of the team, friends of the team, and other dignitaries. It was exhilirating in a way that I can’t fully describe, but imagine waiting for YEARS to get something, you finally get it, and the moment is SO full of glory and excitement that you almost can’t process what’s happening to you in real time. You just soak it in.

Which is what we all did.

In addition to the “moment” in the morning, we had press conferences and seminars about planetary exploration, plus a chance to talk one on one with scientists on the team. Finally, about mid-afternoon, there was a break, and we all scattered to get a bite to eat and catch some fresh air. I did a little posting and some writing, and got some dinner. At 7 p.m. we all converged back on Pluto Central for the evening’s events.

There were talks by some various folks, including Michael Aisner, known in Colorado for the Coors Classic races, and then a presentation by magician David Blaine. The atmosphere was growing more electric by the minute, as the clock ticked down to the time when the signal from the spacecraft, more than 4.5 light-hours away, would be received on Earth. The family of Clyde Tombaugh (who we met several times in the years just before his death) was in attendance, and hearing them talk about their dad and his experiences was like living history again and again. There were also a group of kids who were born the year New Horizons launched, a fetching reminder that long-term exploration of space IS a multi-generational thing.

I would have loved, as CEO of my own company, to spend some time talking with the likes of Aisner and Mo Siegel (founder of Celestial Seasonings, who was also there to introduce his friend Alan Stern), just to meet and greet and see others who have ventured out to do cool things. But, there just wasn’t time. We were all taken up in a larger purpose, united in a large, multi-part living being, focused on thing: the signal. It didn’t matter who we were, just that we were there to celebrate Pluto.

When the time came, we gathered in the auditorium, waiting almost breathlessly for that moment when the signal would “phone home”.

Well, no secret. It did and pandemonium broke out when the Mission Operations Manager Alice Bowman took reports from each of the team leaders for instruments, navigation and propulsion, and called out to her PI (Alan Stern) that we had an intact, functioning spacecraft, brimming with data to send back. Mission Ops was alive with hugs and clapping; and out in the auditorium, more than 1,200 of us were hooting, hollering, waving flags, clapping, crying and cheering. We were united for New Horizons.

Not long after that special moment, the NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, with John Grunsfeld of the Science Mission Directorate and others led the New Horizons mission team into the auditorium for one of the best and most raucous “victory laps” I’ve ever seen at a mission. The emotional level in the room was off the charts. It was amazing.

What’s next?  The anticipatory wait is over; the spacecraft has already sent back some wonderful data, and very soon, the New Horizons team will share it with us. The things we came so far to learn are now within our grasp.

I’ll share one thought that we should all bear in mind: for all the money spent on space exploration, and it IS money well-spent, not one penny, Euro, or whatever, gets spent IN space. It’s all spent here on Earth, to pay people to build the projects, develop the science, and share the universe with us. Whatever spacecraft we use — whether it’s a robotic explorer or a mission with a human crew — it’s still PEOPLE who do the exploration. And, it’s PEOPLE who celebrate the discoveries we make.

From Point of Light to Actual World

Today we learned more from the New Horizons mission team about Pluto than all the observations put together since the planet was found in 1930. I know that sounds a little hyperbolic, but think about it. We now know Pluto’s exact size: 2,370 kilometers across (1,473 miles). That’s a very big deal, since it also changes the estimates of its density. It’s less dense than we thought. Which means it has slightly more ice in its composition than planetary scientists thought.

We’ve also learned more about the surface of both Pluto and Charon in the past 24 hours than anyone ever knew. Before this week, all we could really say with certainty was that these worlds are icy, Pluto has a polar spot, and an atmosphere.

How much has changed in 48 hours! We’ve all seen the images, with the craters, the chasms, the strange markings, the polar ice and the dark curlicues of material. As Alan Stern keeps asking, “Who ordered THIS??!”

What Does it Feel Like?

Alan and others on the team have spoken a lot about a strange surreal feeling they’re experiencing now that Pluto flyby is here. It has been more than 10 years since the mission was conceived of; 9 years since launch. The lights of the New Horizons “freight train” were a long ways down the tracks for so long. And now, suddenly, here we are at the railroad crossing and New Horizons and Pluto are coming at us, unstoppable, delivering news and views of a distant world we’ve long dreamed of. Let me tell you, the team members aren’t the only ones having that feeling!

There are many guests and media folks here at the Pluto Flyby, at what we’ve come to call “Pluto Central”. Many people have that same slightly glazed look, a big smile and a dreamy idea that this is the moment in time we’ve all been waiting for. And suddenly, like Christmas or summer vacation or graduation day — this is it. Our time, our moment, shared with thousands of team members, family members, friends of the mission, and of course, the larger community of people who are moved by the major accomplishments of sending a grand piano-sized spacecraft across several billion kilometers of space to show us the wonders of a world that was, until what feels like a few minutes ago, just a point of light to us.

As you watch the festivities the next few days, and enjoy the sight of Pluto brought to you by your fellow human beings, take a moment to savor it. This is what exploration is supposed to be like — the acquisition of knowledge that enriches your life in ways you never anticipated!

See you on the other side of Pluto!