10 Years On: NASA’s New Horizons Unveils Pluto’s Iconic Heart

Rapid Summary

• NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft captured the most accurate natural colour image of Pluto on July 14, 2015.
• The image was produced using refined calibration data from the Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC) aboard New Horizons.
• This processing approximates “true color” as seen by the human eye, without additional data from other instruments.
• Pluto’s surface features are clearly visible, including its icy, nitrogen-and-methane-rich “heart,” Sputnik Planitia.

Indian Opinion Analysis

India continues to invest in its space programs and collaborations while global advancements like NASA’s Pluto imagery highlight opportunities for exploration beyond immediate planetary systems. For India, such achievements serve as a benchmark to enhance scientific research and develop deep-space capabilities under ISRO’s future missions. Embracing international cooperation with established agencies like NASA can also pave pathways for technological transfer and knowledge sharing. As India’s space ambitions grow through projects like Gaganyaan and Chandrayaan, leveraging breakthrough examples such as this can support broadening perspectives toward interplanetary exploration.

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