Uploaded May 2023 | Updated September 2026, 55 minutes ago
In 2015, Pluto was explored for the very first time by NASA's New Horizon mission. Joining our conversation today is Dr. Alan Stern, a renowned planetary scientist and the leader of that very Pluto mission. In this short documentary, we're unraveling the incredible story of the longest and farthest space exploration mission humankind has ever embarked upon- all inspired by a tiny postage stamp!
00:00 - Intro
02:04 - When was Pluto discovered?
03:08 - Why send spacecraft to the planets?
04:32 - Who is Alan Stern?
05:59 - The case for a Pluto mission
07:27 - The New Horizons probe
09:26 - New Horizons launches for Pluto
11:00 - What can New Horizons do?
14:04 - The July 4th anomaly
16:00 - The Pluto flyby
17:47 - What we found at Pluto
19:24 - What happened to New Horizons after Pluto?
20:57 - Recap
đź‘• Buy the New Horizons Shirt (and support the channel!): https://digital-astronaut.square.site/product/new-horizons-dark-shirt-/17?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=4
Other Resources:
đź”— Visit New Horizons website and gallery http://pluto.jhuapl.edu
đź”— Buy Alan Stern's book "Chasing New Horizons" https://alanstern.space/chasing-new-horizons/
đź”— Watch the National Space Society's incredible Pluto flyby promo video youtube.com/watch?v=-Hbp8QYUQpc
👨‍🚀 Follow us on Instagram for behind-the-scenes content and quick space-facts from our videos instagram.com/digitalastronaut.tv
🎥 Want to help us make more videos and reach more people? Like this video and subscribe to our channel!
Episode Credits:
Written, Directed, and Edited: Jared Belcher
Special Thanks to our Episode Guest: Dr. Alan Stern
Video and Image Thanks to: NASA, APL, National Space Society, and Southwest Research Institute
3D Animation: Andy Belcher (instagram.com/andy__animates/)
2D Animation and Compositing: Jared Belcher
Original Theme Music: Branded.
Episode Music by: Bradford Night, David A. Molina, Will Patterson, Luke Atencio, Roary
đź’»Equipment Used:
iPhone 13 Pro
Sony A6500
Tascam DR-10L Portable Digital Audio Recorder With Lavalier Microphone
2022 MacBook Air (M2)
2019 MacBook Pro
Autodesk Maya
Final Cut Pro
Apple Motion
In 2015, Pluto was explored for the very first time by NASA's New Horizon mission. Joining our conversation today is Dr. Alan Stern, a renowned planetary scientist and the leader of that very Pluto mission. In this short documentary, we're unraveling the incredible story of the longest and farthest space exploration mission humankind has ever embarked upon- all inspired by a tiny postage stamp!
00:00 - Intro
02:04 - When was Pluto discovered?
03:08 - Why send spacecraft to the planets?
04:32 - Who is Alan Stern?
05:59 - The case for a Pluto mission
07:27 - The New Horizons probe
09:26 - New Horizons launches for Pluto
11:00 - What can New Horizons do?
14:04 - The July 4th anomaly
16:00 - The Pluto flyby
17:47 - What we found at Pluto
19:24 - What happened to New Horizons after Pluto?
20:57 - Recap
đź‘• Buy the New Horizons Shirt (and support the channel!): https://digital-astronaut.square.site/product/new-horizons-dark-shirt-/17?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=4
Other Resources:
đź”— Visit New Horizons website and gallery http://pluto.jhuapl.edu
đź”— Buy Alan Stern's book "Chasing New Horizons" https://alanstern.space/chasing-new-horizons/
đź”— Watch the National Space Society's incredible Pluto flyby promo video youtube.com/watch?v=-Hbp8QYUQpc
👨‍🚀 Follow us on Instagram for behind-the-scenes content and quick space-facts from our videos instagram.com/digitalastronaut.tv
🎥 Want to help us make more videos and reach more people? Like this video and subscribe to our channel!
Episode Credits:
Written, Directed, and Edited: Jared Belcher
Special Thanks to our Episode Guest: Dr. Alan Stern
Video and Image Thanks to: NASA, APL, National Space Society, and Southwest Research Institute
3D Animation: Andy Belcher (instagram.com/andy__animates/)
2D Animation and Compositing: Jared Belcher
Original Theme Music: Branded.
Episode Music by: Bradford Night, David A. Molina, Will Patterson, Luke Atencio, Roary
đź’»Equipment Used:
iPhone 13 Pro
Sony A6500
Tascam DR-10L Portable Digital Audio Recorder With Lavalier Microphone
2022 MacBook Air (M2)
2019 MacBook Pro
Autodesk Maya
Final Cut Pro
Apple Motion
