Mission to Pluto: The First Visit to an Ice Dwarf and the Kuiper Belt

by Mary Kay Carson

Overview

In July of 2015, a robotic spacecraft reached Pluto after a nine-and-a-half-year journey. Explore with New Horizons in this new-to-paperback book about the first mission to Pluto, which revealed the ice dwarf and its five moons as they had never been seen before. Images from the mission show a reddish surface covered in mountains of frozen water, moving glaciers, hints of possible ice volcanoes, and an underground ocean. Pluto is geologically alive and changing!

This addition to the Scientists in the Field series goes where no person or spacecraft has ever gone before. Journey with the team of scientists as they build New Horizons, fly it across the solar system, and make new discoveries about a world three billion miles away.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780358240273
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/09/2020
Series:	Scientists in the Field Series
Pages:	80
Sales rank:	1,168,697
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.48(d)
Age Range:	10 - 12 Years

About the Author

Mary Kay Carson lives with her husband, Tom Uhlman, and their dog, Ruby, in a century-old house surrounded by deer, hawks, woodchucks, songbirds, and other creatures in Cincinnati, Ohio. Check out their other Scientists in the Field books, including The Tornado Scientist, Park Scientists, Emi and the Rhino Scientist, The Bat Scientists, Inside Biosphere 2, and Mission to Pluto.

Editorial Reviews

12/12/2016
In this entry in the Scientists in the Field series, Carson and Uhlman trace the efforts of NASA scientist Alan Stern and his team as they sent the spacecraft New Horizons to Pluto. The narrative opens in July 2015, just as the first images of the dwarf planet were unveiled. Carson then backtracks to explore the path that led to this feat, including Clyde Tombaugh’s 1930 discovery of Pluto, campaigns to mount a Pluto mission, and how the New Horizons project took shape. Carson maintains a thrilling sense of immediacy, bolstered by Uhlman’s on-the-scene photos—and, of course, New Horizon’s dramatic images of Pluto and its fellow residents of the Kuiper belt. Ages 10–12. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

* "[Carson's] enthusiasm shines through her clear, conversational narrative, and she quotes from personal interviews as well as press conferences and releases, extending the book's intimacy... A worthy companion to Catherine Thimmesh's Team Moon (2006) with similar appeal." —Kirkus, STARRED review "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... 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." —Bulletin "Carson maintains a thrilling sense of immediacy, bolstered by Uhlman’s on-the-scene photos—and, of course, New Horizon’s dramatic images of Pluto and its fellow residents of the Kuiper belt." —Publishers Weekly "This enthusiastic, accessible look at both cutting-edge scientific discovery and the dynamic work behind the scenes will be an easy sell to spacemad kids..." —Booklist —

From the Publisher

★ 2016-11-02
A team effort sends a space probe to the edge of our solar system.When New Horizons flew by Pluto and sent home data and images in 2015, it was the culmination of a 26-year campaign (and a nine-year journey) and the first-ever exploration of that far-distant ice dwarf planet. Science writer and self-described "space geek" Carson and her photographer husband introduce their comprehensive description of this collaborative mission by showing the jubilant scene at the mission operations center as the spacecraft revealed its first close-up images. Then, chapter by chapter, they explain its purpose; the makeup of the craft and the instruments it carries; the journey across the solar system to Pluto, which was demoted from planet to dwarf planet during the 9 years but turned out to have 4 more moons than previously thought; some major discoveries from this first encounter; and the continuation of the mission into the Kuiper belt of small planets. Sidebars and longer sections called "Mission Briefs" provide additional information. The author's enthusiasm shines through her clear, conversational narrative, and she quotes from personal interviews as well as press conferences and releases, extending the book's intimacy. Uhlman's well-captioned photographs of the team members (mostly white and male) are nicely mixed with photos from NASA and elsewhere and occasional digital illustrations. A worthy companion to Catherine Thimmesh's Team Moon (2006) with similar appeal. (glossary, web resources, sources, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews