The Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. Ralph camera aboard the New Horizons mission will provide the closest images we have ever seen of Pluto when the spacecraft arrives at the dwarf planet on July 14.
Ralph, the main “eyes†of New Horizon is designed to help scientists map the surface geology of Pluto and its moons, and investigate Kuiper Belt objects. The small but powerful Ralph weighs only 23 pounds and operates on approximately seven watts, the power of a standard night light. The entire telescope operates around 220 K (-60°F) in the cold darkness of the outer solar system. After a journey of more than nine years, Ralph will capture the first ever close-up snapshots of Pluto when New Horizons passes within 7,000 miles of the tiny, icy dwarf planet.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to
http://www.multivu.com/players...
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