Alan Stern and a Triumph at Pluto

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: This Planetary Radio episode centers on DPS 2016 in Pasadena, with standout coverage of Alan Stern and the New Horizons mission’s triumph at Pluto, the presentation of the Planetary Society’s Cosmos Award, and new science from Rosetta and other missions. It highlights Pluto’s surprising geology, public excitement, future Kuiper Belt exploration, and the broader inspiration these missions provide to students and society.

Main Topics: DPS 2016 meeting overview: The episode opens from the Division for Planetary Sciences meeting, emphasizing the energy of the event, plenary sessions, and the Planetary Society’s role on-site. New Horizons at Pluto: Alan Stern and Emily Lakdawalla discuss the flyby’s scientific surprises, data return milestones, geological comparisons with Mars, and the mission’s public impact. Cosmos Award and science communication: Bill Nye presents the Planetary Society’s Cosmos Award to Alan Stern and the New Horizons team for communicating the mission to the public and inspiring enthusiasm for exploration. Rosetta and ALICE instrument science: Alan Stern explains results from Rosetta’s ALICE ultraviolet spectrometer, including coma chemistry, surface darkness, and unexpected molecular oxygen. Future New Horizons exploration: Stern outlines the extended mission to study Kuiper Belt objects and the 2014 MU69 flyby, plus heliosphere science and long-term mission goals. Skywatching and space trivia with Bruce Betts: The closing segment covers current sky highlights, historic mission anniversaries, a trivia question about Neptune’s moon Neso, and the weekly contest.

Key Arguments: New Horizons was not only a scientific success but also a public-engagement success, drawing extraordinary global attention and inspiring students and families. Pluto is far more geologically complex and active than expected, rivaling Mars in surface features and challenging assumptions about small icy worlds. Pluto’s internal activity remains a major unresolved mystery because the world appears active despite lacking strong tidal heating. Rosetta’s ALICE data showed that comet science can overturn expectations, including how emissions are produced and how common molecular oxygen may be. The New Horizons mission is still far from finished; the Kuiper Belt and heliosphere provide a new frontier for planetary science. Planetary exploration has derivative benefits beyond space science by motivating STEM interest and long-term technological literacy.

Data Points: Pluto data return milestone: All Pluto flyby data to be transmitted by Sunday - Emily Lakdawalla describes a major New Horizons data-delivery milestone New Horizons public attention: North of 1 billion page views in a day - Alan Stern compares New Horizons’ public reach to the Mars Curiosity landing Curiosity landing page views: Over 100 million in one day - Used as the previous modern-era record holder before New Horizons New Horizons media coverage: 458 other newspapers around the world - Coverage on the day after the Pluto flyby Rosetta ALICE spectra: Over 70,000 spectra - Data collected during Rosetta’s two-year orbital tour Pluto surface ages: Ancient terrains up to 4 billion years old - Alan Stern discusses age diversity on Pluto Sputnik Planum age: About 1 million square kilometers; born yesterday (very young) - Used to describe the youngest terrain on Pluto Pluto future target color: Much redder than Pluto - Hubble-based characterization of the future Kuiper Belt target New Horizons Pluto flyby distance: About one Earth diameter away from Pluto’s surface - Bruce Betts’ random space fact Neso orbital period: 26.67 years (9,374 days) - Trivia answer for Neptune’s moon with the longest orbital period Neso semi-major axis: 48,390,000 kilometers - Provided by a contestant to support the trivia answer Pluto flyby timeline: January 1, 2019 - Projected arrival date at MU69 in the extended mission Heliosphere exploration range: 50 astronomical units - Extended mission goal beyond Pluto New Horizons power lifetime: Into the 2030s, maybe 2040 - Estimated spacecraft operational longevity Pluto target mission duration: 9 years of flight time before flyby - Referenced as the long journey to Pluto Mission data downlink duration: About a year and a half, maybe longer - Time estimated to return MU69 flyby data

Pivotal Quotes: "What are some of the highlights from across the entire mission, particularly, of course, the flyby?" — Matt Kaplan: Introduces Alan Stern’s summary of the New Horizons mission "Pluto is the new Mars." — Alan Stern: Stern’s shorthand for Pluto’s unexpectedly rich geology and geomorphology "Where did we all come from? And are we alone in the cosmos?" — Bill Nye: Bill Nye explains why spacecraft exploration matters during the Cosmos Award presentation

Implications: The episode underscores that planetary missions can transform both science and society: they reveal unexpected worlds, inspire STEM pathways, and justify continued investment in long-duration exploration beyond Pluto.