Mission to Pluto: The First Visit to an Ice Dwarf and the Kuiper Belt by Mary Kay Carson (review)

Nearly two decades before Pluto’s redefinition to dwarf planet, the push was on among scientists to investigate this intriguing object at the outer reaches of the solar system, and just months before Pluto’s famous shift in status, the New Horizons mission had launched. The surprisingly lightweight and economical vehicle was equipped to capture images, measure space dust impact, and investigate Pluto’s atmosphere, temperature, and chemical composition before heading off for a peek at a yet-to-be-determined Kuiper Belt Object. Carson enters this story at a midway point in the New Horizons mission, with the flyby successfully completed, mind-boggling data in a preliminary stage of study, and the spacecraft now on its way to 2014 MU69, a KBO discovered to lie conveniently along New Horizons’ set path. Carson’s clear, enthusiastic text recounts the work of such team members as project leader Alan Sterns, mission operations manager Alice Bowman, and geologist John Spencer, tasked with tracking down a suitable KBO to visit. Well-organized chapters keep the chronological narration flowing smoothly, while sidebars and “Mission Brief ” insets supply scientific explanations and data at need-to-know points in the text. Pluto enthusiasts will be fascinated by the recent data that amends many previous assumptions about Pluto, such as its extensive atmosphere, geological activity, and variety of surface features; readers who want to get in the ground floor of new discoveries will also appreciate this introduction to exciting information forthcoming from the 2014 MU69 flyby. A glossary, print and online resources, and an index are included.