DESCRIPTION |
The New Horizons Kuiper Belt Extended Mission (KEM) is a mission to a recently discovered,
unexplored region of the solar system, the Kuiper Belt. The first part (KEM1) included a
close flyby of Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) 2014 MU69 (Arrokoth). This second part (KEM2)
continued to survey the Kuiper Belt using New Horizons as an observatory, examining many
other Kuiper Belt Objects and Centaurs while studying the Kuiper Belt dust, gas, plasma,
and energetic particle environments. These studies will place both the Pluto system and
Arrokoth in better context among KBOs, increasing scientific understanding of both. New
science goals for KEM2 include: new studies in Planetary Science (large-phase angle
observations of gas giants), Heliophysics (Lyman-alpha all sky map), and Astrophysics
(cosmic optical and ultraviolet background, and distant shock regions). KEM2 data
deliveries also include data taken during KEM1 but not downlinked until KEM2.
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