A schedule of events surrounding the New Horizons flyby of Kuiper Belt Object MU69.
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NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is on track to perform the farthest flyby in history, when it zips past a Kuiper Belt object nicknamed Ultima Thule – more than four billion miles from Earth – at 12:33 a.m. EST on Jan. 1 (9:33 p.m. PST on Dec. 31).
Flyby activities are taking place at the home of New Horizons operations, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland. A schedule of events, set for broadcast and streaming on NASA TV and social media channels, is below.
Times are EST and subject to change according to mission timelines and activities. Check http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/Where-to-Watch.php for updates and additions.
| Date | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
Friday, Dec. 28, 2018 | 1:00-1:30 pm EST | New Horizons: Beyond Pluto. Preview of the spacecraft and science operations during the Ultima Thule flyby. |
Monday, Dec. 31, 2018 | 2:00-3:00 pm EST | Press briefing: Ultima Thule flyby science and operations preview |
| 3:00-4:00 pm EST | Q&A: Ask the New Horizons Team | |
| 8:00-11:00 pm EST | Panel discussion on exploration of small worlds (8-9 pm); Ultima Thule flyby countdown events; mission updates | |
Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019 | 12:15-12:45 am EST | Live coverage of countdown to closest approach (12:33 am); real-time flyby simulations |
| 9:45 – 10:15 am EST | Live coverage of New Horizons signal-acquisition from Ultima Thule flyby | |
| 11:30 am– 12:30 pm EST | Press briefing: Spacecraft status, latest images and data download schedule | |
Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019 | 2:00-3:00 pm EST | Press briefing: Science results from Ultima Thule |
Thursday, Jan. 2, 2019 | 2:00-3:00 pm EST | Press briefing: Science results from Ultima Thule |
