It Took 15 Months, but all of New Horizons’ Data Has Finally Been Downloaded

[Binary_Bark]

Finally, the New Horizons team has their entire “pot of gold.” 15 months after the mission’s flyby of the Pluto system, the final bits of science data from the historic July 2015 event has been safely transmitted to Earth.

“The New Horizons mission has required patience for many years, but we knew the results would be well worth the wait,” New Horizons project scientists Hal Weaver told me earlier this year.

Because of New Horizons’ great distance from Earth and the spacecraft’s low power output (the spacecraft runs on just 2-10 watts of electricity), it has a relatively low ‘downlink’ rate at which data can be transmitted to Earth, just 1-4 kilobits per second. That’s why it has taken so long to get all the science data back to Earth.

http://www.universetoday.com/131677/took-15-months-new-horizons-data-finally-downloaded/

 

[grok]

Amazed at what these scientists dream of, then set their minds to accomplish. Imagine the thought, planning & persistence it took to make all of this steps happen as by clockwork years after they were first thought of. I am in awe.

To think some deluded folks want to clear the slate & start from scratch. Shame, at least you can do the dab well..