New HorizonsMission: Nasa’s space probe examines 6.4 billion kilometers away in the sky body

With a Pioneering on the edge of the solar system is launched, the American space Agency Nasa in the new year. The space probe “New Horizons” was early Tuesday their cameras on the sky body Ultima Thule, which is 6.4 billion kilometres away from earth, as Nasa announced. Never before have researchers were able to investigate such a distant celestial body. The probe survived the risky Mission without prejudice.

The Nasa celebrated the flyby of the probe with numerous school children in the Johns Hopkins research centre for Applied physics in Maryland. Some of the children were dressed up as spacemen. They were celebrating under confetti rain, as the probe approached the surface of Ultima Thule as close as possible – at a distance of more than 3500 kilometres.

“We have a healthy spacecraft,”

The service in the afternoon, the Nasa experts received the confirmation that the flight successfully. The probe sent signals back to earth, to announce that she has survived the Mission unscathed. “We have a healthy spacecraft,” said mission Manager Alice Bowman. The researchers are now waiting for pictures and data of the probe, which completed its flight with a speed of more than 50,000 kilometres per hour.

the Ultima Thule is located in a dark and cold space region called the Kuiper belt. The researchers hope to gain from the “New Horizons”-data in understanding the formation of planets.