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From the New Horizons mission guide:

Science Priorities

Based largely on what the scientific community wanted to learn about Pluto and Charon, NASA prioritized its science goals for Pluto-system exploration in three categories:

Required

• Characterize the global geology and morphology of Pluto and Charon

• Map surface composition of Pluto and Charon

• Characterize the neutral atmosphere of Pluto and its escape rate

Important

• Characterize the time variability of Pluto's surface and atmosphere

• Image Pluto and Charon in stereo

• Map the terminators (day/night lines) of Pluto and Charon in high resolution

• Map the composition of selected areas of Pluto and Charon at high resolution

• Characterize Pluto's ionosphere and solar wind interaction

• Search for neutral species (including hydrocarbons and nitriles) in Pluto's upper atmosphere

• Search for an atmosphere around Charon

• Determine bolometric bond albedos for Pluto and Charon

• Map the surface temperatures on Pluto and Charon

Desired

• Characterize the energetic particle environment of Pluto and Charon

• Refine bulk parameters (radii, masses, densities) and orbits of Pluto and Charon

• Search for magnetic fields of Pluto and Charon

• Search for additional satellites and rings

NASA defines mission success as meeting the "required" objectives. With its full science payload -- three optical instruments, two plasma instruments, a radio science receiver/radiometer and a dust sensor - New Horizons expects to exceed these requirements, meeting or addressing all of the objectives in each category.

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13y ago

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