can humans travel to pluto

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Should We Send Humans to Pluto?

Universe Today has examined the potential for sending humans to Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa , the planet Venus , and Saturn’s largest moon, Titan , all despite their respective harsh environments and vast distances. These conversations with planetary science experts determined that humans traveling to these worlds in the foreseeable future could be possible, despite the harsh conditions and travel time, specifically to Titan.

But what if we were to send humans farther out into the Solar System, and much farther out than Titan? Here, we will continue this conversation with planetary science experts to determine whether the dwarf planet Pluto could be a viable destination for sending humans, either in the near or distant future. Pluto lacks the harsh environments of Europa and Venus, but like Titan, the extremely vast distance could pose potential concerns for sending humans to this distant world. So, should we send humans to Pluto?

“I think we should send humans everywhere in the solar system, eventually,” Dr. Alan Stern , who is the Principal Investigator for NASA’s New Horizons mission , tells Universe Today . “But it would be premature to send human beings to most places in the solar system, including Pluto, today, because we don’t know enough about the planet to design such a mission. It’s also very far beyond our technical capabilities, and there’s no present need to spend the kind of money that it would take. But, you know, a hundred, or 200, or 500 years from now could be entirely different.”

Launched in January 2006 , NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft became the fastest human-made object ever launched from Earth , as it was catapulted away from our home planet at an astonishing 16.26 km/s (10.10 mi/s). Despite this incredible speed, which allowed New Horizons to reach Jupiter in just over one year for a gravity assist , it still took another eight years and five months to reach Pluto, flying past the dwarf planet on July 14, 2015 , and coming within 12,472 km (7,750 mi) of Pluto’s surface.

This lengthy trip is due to Pluto’s vast distance in the outer solar system. While Titan has an average distance of approximately 1.4 billion kilometers (886 million miles) from the Sun, Pluto has an astounding average distance of 5.9 billion kilometers (3.7 billion miles) from the Sun, orbiting in the outer solar system within a region of icy objects of known as the Kuiper Belt .

Dr. Mike Brown , who is a Richard and Barbara Rosenberg Professor of Astronomy at Caltech and is known for his social media handle of @plutokiller, tells Universe Today , “It seems pretty clear that we are unlikely to ever send humans to Pluto, to any other object in the Kuiper Belt, or probably anywhere in the outer solar system. I assume no rational group is actually considering this at this time (and will never consider it). Not to say that it is not a fun thing to speculate about, but, only in a here-is-something-that-will-never-ever-ever-ever happen sort of way.”

Even with a direct flight trajectory to Pluto, our present technology would still require many years to reach its destination; even an unmanned Pluto orbiter, because of its need to brake into orbit, is estimated to take 20+ years to reach Pluto from Earth with today’s technology. But could things be different in a few hundred years with more advanced technology?

Dr. Stern conveyed to Universe Today how Columbus coming to the New World couldn’t envision the present-day world with people traveling cross-country in just a few hours for a tiny fraction of their annual paycheck.

“But it’s likely to be much easier in the distant future,” Dr. Stern tells Universe Today . “And because it’ll be easier, it will be less expensive. And so, if something like Star Trek ever happens, going to Pluto is going to be a walk in the park compared to interstellar travel, and I think there’d be a lot of science to be gained from it.”

During New Horizons’ brief flyby of Pluto, the spacecraft obtained stunning images of the dwarf planet’s surface , revealing a wide range of diversity with smooth, nitrogen plains and vast, water-ice mountain ranges. Along with data obtained about Pluto’s mostly-nitrogen atmosphere, scientists have hypothesized that Pluto could possess an interior ocean of water-ice . While these findings have helped shape a completely different picture of Pluto compared to previous models, if we could send humans to Pluto, what would be the benefits and drawbacks, and what additional science could be conducted by a human mission compared to a robotic mission?

Dr. Anne Verbiscer , who is a Research Professor in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Virginia, along with being a Deputy Project Scientist and a Co-Investigator on New Horizons, tells Universe Today , “The benefits are that humans are far more efficient explorers than robots and there are myriad drawbacks because of the technical complexities brought on by Pluto’s great heliocentric and geocentric distance.”

In terms of additional science, Dr. Verbiscer tells Universe Today , “Several in-situ experiments could be conducted by humans that robots would not be able to do. But there is so much that can be done and learned from robotic missions that (several of) these need to be conducted well in advance of sending humans.”

This discussion comes as human space exploration, from both worldwide governments and the commercial space industry, is slated to increase in the foreseeable future. In just the next few years, NASA’s Artemis program has the goal of landing the first woman and person of color on the lunar surface, Axiom Space hopes to establish the world’s first commercial space station in Earth orbit, the China National Space Administration wants to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030 as part of its Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, and SpaceX is slowly developing its Starship heavy-lift launch vehicle with the goal of sending humans to Mars, someday.

Will we ever send humans to Pluto? Will such a mission achieve greater scientific objectives than from a robotic mission like New Horizons, and what could it teach us about living and working so far from Earth? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!

As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!

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2 Replies to “Should We Send Humans to Pluto?”

The next step we need to take in the exploration of Pluto is sending a robotic orbiter with two landers–one for Pluto and one for its large moon Charon.

FYI, I am known for my social media handle of @plutosavior

Sending humans to Pluto will likely never yield enough science to make such a mission viable. Sure, in the future, technology might be available to allow it. Maybe someone will be crazy enough to do it ‘just because they can’ (think wealthy descendants of Elon Musk).

Propulsion technology has to change to make such a trip even possible. Sending probes is OK taking 10 to 20 years, but humans need to breathe, eat, exercise, have recreation and a sense of purpose in life. In addition, they need heat to survive. In this region of space, the sun is nothing more than a distant star, and temperatures are approaching absolute zero, which is minus 460 degrees F.

How many astronauts want to live aboard a spacecraft for 40 years of their life, assuming we can even get them back to earth? What, besides exploration, would they accomplish?

There are far more missions with greater appeal much closer to our home planet, like the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Those might yield life forms in the liquid oceans beneath their icy crusts to make such a mission worth the effort and expense. Even still, new propulsion techniques will need to be built to keep those missions under a year in each direction.

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The Long, Strange Trip to Pluto, and How NASA Nearly Missed It

By Kenneth Chang

• July 18, 2015

Planetary scientists are coloring in the family portrait of our solar system as close-up photographs and observations stream back from Pluto , a world three billion miles away with towering mountains of ice, vast smooth plains and many mysteries yet to be revealed.

The flyby of Pluto last week by NASA ’s New Horizons spacecraft is rightly celebrated as a triumph of human ingenuity, the capstone of a mission that unfolded nearly flawlessly.

Yet it almost did not happen, which would have left Pluto as just a hazy dot of light.

New Horizons overcame skeptical NASA officials, repeated threats to its funding, laboratory troubles that constricted the amount of plutonium available to power the spacecraft and an unforgiving deadline set by the clockwork of the planets. Though none of the obstacles packed the drama of space-exploration crises like the Apollo 13 mission, their number and magnitude seemed unbelievable.

“If you wrote a novel about it, I don’t think people would buy it,” said S. Alan Stern, New Horizons’ principal investigator.

The story of New Horizons, the little spacecraft that could, and did, visit a small planet that is now considered too small to be a planet, started 15 years ago when NASA called it quits on Pluto.

For a decade, concepts for sending a mission there had been studied but never done. In 2000, the price tag for the latest incarnation, called Pluto-Kuiper Express, appeared to be getting out of control.

“When it was canceled,” Dr. Stern said, “the associate administrator at the time, Ed Weiler, held a press conference and said: ‘We’re out of the Pluto business. It’s over. It’s dead. It’s dead. It’s dead.’ He repeated himself three times.”

Many planetary scientists and Pluto fans reacted in dismay, especially as it seemed to be a case of then or never.

NASA’s New Horizons Probe Glimpses Pluto’s Icy Heart

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is sending back images of Pluto from its summer flyby.

Pluto had reached the closest point of its orbit to the sun in 1989 and was on the outbound trek, turning colder. Scientists worried that Pluto’s tenuous atmosphere would turn to ice and fall to the ground, making Pluto a much less interesting place to study until it neared the sun again — two centuries later, when they would be long gone.

There was a second orbital consideration. The quickest way to Pluto is to take a left turn at Jupiter , using the giant planet’s gravity for acceleration, which cuts the travel time by four years. But a launch after January 2006 would mean Jupiter would be too far out of alignment to provide a boost.

Stamatios Krimigis, then the head of the space department at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland and a member of a committee that advised NASA on missions to the outer planets, recalled Dr. Weiler’s asking him in the fall of 2000 whether it would be possible to do a low-cost Pluto mission similar to the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous spacecraft that the laboratory had built and operated for NASA a few years earlier.

“I said, ‘Well, we can look at that,’ ” Dr. Krimigis said in an interview. He was intrigued but uncertain.

Dr. Krimigis pulled together a small group who worked over the Thanksgiving holiday to come up with a cost estimate: $500 million including the rocket. That quick study sketched out a basic design that would turn into New Horizons.

A few months later, NASA put out a call for proposals, a competition to design a new Pluto mission that would arrive by 2015 and cost less than $500 million.

The Johns Hopkins team knew how to build spacecraft, but the science of Pluto was not its expertise. For that, Dr. Krimigis reached out to Dr. Stern, the head of the Southwest Research Institute’s space studies department in Boulder, Colo.

Dr. Stern was a member of the “Pluto Underground,” a dozen planetary scientists who in 1989 met in a Baltimore restaurant and discussed how to push NASA toward a Pluto mission. Over the years, he had worked on various studies for Pluto missions, none of which had paid off.

But Dr. Stern, who rallied efforts to persuade NASA to again consider a Pluto mission, liked what he heard from Dr. Krimigis.

They discussed, compromised and then agreed.

In November 2001, NASA chose New Horizons. “We busted our butts, and we won it,” Dr. Stern said.

That started a four-year, two-month sprint to design, build and test the spacecraft and get it to the launching pad — but almost immediately there was an obstacle. “Two months later, the Bush administration canceled it,” Dr. Stern said, laughing.

The president’s budget proposal for 2003 included no money for Pluto, the second year in a row that the administration had tried to kill such a mission. But Congress, persuaded by Senator Barbara A. Mikulski of Maryland, inserted earmarks in the spending bills to keep the Pluto mission on track.

“Every year Congress had to keep us on life support,” said Glen Fountain, New Horizons’ project manager.

In 2002, the National Academy of Sciences named Pluto a top priority for NASA’s planetary science missions. “At that point, you could feel things change,” Mr. Fountain said.

Managers of spacecraft missions often talk about the trade-offs between cost, schedule and risk. Too quick and too cheap greatly raise the chance of failure. “We don’t believe in that,” Dr. Krimigis said.

With just seven instruments, the craft was about the size of a grand piano. Mr. Fountain said the philosophy at the Johns Hopkins laboratory is to stick to proven technologies and keep the design to the essentials, which reduce cost and avoid delays without increasing risk. The one compromise, he said, was a digital radio receiver that would consume less power. The Johns Hopkins laboratory had already started working on the technology in a separate project.

“We didn’t think it was a huge risk,” Mr. Fountain said.

Development continued without any showstoppers, although the cost rose to $722 million.

Then, in August 2004, the Department of Energy informed the New Horizons team that it could not provide the plutonium power source. At the far reaches of the solar system, the sun is too dim for a spacecraft to rely on solar panels or batteries. Instead, a chunk of radioactive plutonium generates heat that is converted to electricity.

Security lapses and safety issues at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico had shut down the production of plutonium dioxide pellets for New Horizons’ power generator. Not enough had been made to provide the 220 watts called for in the design.

“We said, ‘How much power could you deliver?’ ” Mr. Fountain said. The reply: 180 watts.

Because of design decisions like the digital radio receiver, Mr. Fountain thought the reduced power would be sufficient. In the end, the Department of Energy was able to build a power generator that put out 200 watts during the flyby.

New Horizons launched on top of an Atlas 5 rocket on Jan. 19, 2006, making the fastest-ever trip out of Earth’s neighborhood.

Thirteen months later, the craft was at Jupiter already, and the mission team put its instruments to the test. New Horizons captured time lapse pictures of a volcanic eruption on Io, one of Jupiter’s four big moons.

Just after the Jupiter flyby, New Horizons suffered its first computer glitch. For spacecraft outside Earth’s protective atmosphere, high-energy cosmic rays occasionally zip through computer memory, causing a crash and restart. Calculations indicated that there would be one such crash during the nine-and-a-half-year trip to Pluto.

Instead, they occurred almost once a year. But none caused lasting damage, and they proved good learning experiences.

“It was just eventful enough to keep us alert,” said Christopher Hersman, the missions systems engineer. “It actually helped.”

The rest of the long cruise was mostly uneventful. Flinging a spacecraft to a rendezvous at the edge of the solar system is indeed rocket science, but not groundbreaking rocket science. The equations — the basic laws of Isaac Newton — are the same ones that were used decades ago.

Still, the engineers were careful with their calculations — tiny errors can grow calamitous — and periodic checkups made sure everything was working smoothly on the spacecraft.

Then, on July 4, 10 days before the Pluto flyby, the spacecraft suddenly fell silent. Alice Bowman, the mission operations manager, said years of experience had given her a sense when a problem might be the fault of the receiving stations and when it might be a problem with a spacecraft.

“I pretty much knew it was something on the spacecraft,” she said.

She called Mr. Hersman. “Where are you?” she said, summoning him urgently to the missions operations center.

After an Independence Day barbecue with neighbors, Mr. Hersman was already on the way to the office anyway. “Going in, I was thinking, ‘Remain calm,’ ” Mr. Hersman recalled.

Ms. Bowman called Mr. Fountain. He, too, headed in.

Thoughts of the worst popped into his mind: “Could we have been so extremely unlucky that we hit something?” Even debris the size of a grain of rice could destroy a delicate craft moving so fast.

But it turned out the spacecraft’s computer had overloaded trying to do two things at once — receive instructions for the flyby while compressing images in its memory banks. By design, the main computer entered what engineers call “safe” mode to avoid damage to the spacecraft, and the backup computer kicked in.

An hour and a half later, the ground stations detected the signal from the backup computer. “Then I knew we could do it,” Ms. Bowman said. “The question was, could we do it in time?”

A nine-day sequence of commands to guide New Horizons through the flyby was set to begin on July 7. Ms. Bowman spent two nights at the office, taking only short naps. “You would be amazed how much that can do,” she said. “I can’t say I slept.”

With hours to spare, the craft was back in operation. Then the flyby directions kicked in, and New Horizons did everything it was told to do.

An article last Sunday about the early travails of the New Horizons mission to Pluto referred incorrectly to the volcanic eruption on Jupiter’s moon Io that the spacecraft observed in 2007. Erupting volcanoes on Io were seen during earlier NASA missions; the New Horizons images were not the first. And because of an editing error, an accompanying picture caption misstated the date and location of a spin test of the spacecraft before its launching. The test shown took place in 2005 at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, not in 2006 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

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Why NASA should visit Pluto again

New Horizons brought Pluto into the public eye, but a  proposed  new  mission would give us a closer look.  

• Tatyana Woodall archive page

In 1930,  Clyde Tombaugh , a 25-year-old amateur astronomer, spied a small, dim object in the night sky.  

He’d been working at the  Lowell Observatory  in Flagstaff, Arizona, for about a year when he used a blink comparator—a special kind of microscope that can examine and compare images—to glimpse what was for a time considered to be the ninth planet in our solar system: Pluto.  

By all accounts, Pluto was—well—weird. At one point, astronomers believed it could potentially be bigger than Mars (it’s not). Its unusual 248-year orbit has been known to  cross Neptune’s path.  Today, Pluto is recognized as the largest object in the Kuiper Belt—but it’s no longer considered a planet.  

In 2006, the  International Astronomical Union  voted to downgrade Pluto, defining a planet as a body that orbits the sun, is round in shape, and has “cleared the neighborhood around its orbit”—meaning it has become gravitationally dominant, so that there are no bodies in its orbital zone besides its own moons. Since Pluto did not check that third box, it was deemed a dwarf planet.  

Now a new concept mission submitted to NASA aims to take a close look at Pluto and its nearby systems. Proposed in late 2020, Persephone would explore whether Pluto has an ocean and how the planet’s surface and atmosphere have evolved.  

Persephone would send a spacecraft armed with high-resolution cameras to orbit Pluto for three years and map its surface as well as that of its largest moon, Charon.  

But why is Pluto worth visiting? 

The same year Pluto was shoved from its planetary pedestal, NASA sent the  New Horizons  mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt to better understand the outer edge of our solar system. 

After reaching Pluto in 2015, New Horizons struck what amounted to scientific treasure. Close-ups of Pluto revealed potentially active mountain ranges, flowing ice, and a surprising record of  geologic history on its surface.   

Carly Howett , a planetary physicist and the principal investigator for Persephone, says New Horizons showed us just how complex that part of space really is.  

“It wasn’t that New Horizons fundamentally had technology that is new, but it kind of gave people an insight into what the Pluto system might be like,” Howett says. “The world, for the first time, saw Pluto.” 

Now, Howett and others think it’s time to return. Every 10 years, the National Research Council’s  decadal survey  raises leading questions posed in space exploration and determines what kinds of missions could answer them. Persephone’s goals address questions raised in the last survey about the formation of the solar system and whether organic matter once existed outside of Earth.  

To become an official NASA mission, Persephone will have to prove to the larger scientific community that the questions it may answer are worth the effort, before the NRC takes it to a vote.  

However, some scientists believe that going back to Pluto isn’t worth the resources or the 30-year trip it would take to get there.  

“In a perfect world we would be constantly putting together new missions to anything we could land a rover on,” says  Dakotah Tyler , an astronomy PhD student at UCLA who studies exoplanets (planets orbiting stars other than our sun). But because NASA invests only in top science priorities, resources are limited.  

Instead of Pluto, Tyler says, we should go to the moons of Saturn and Jupiter, many of which we already know are home to oceans below their surface.  

“Although we undoubtedly would gain more knowledge by continuing to study the icy Kuiper Belt objects, I think that we stand to gain far more, far quicker if we keep our exploration a bit closer to home,” says Tyler.  

And as with any mission, there are risks and challenges involved in getting Persephone off the ground. One of the biggest   would be maintaining its power source—an array of radioisotope thermoelectric generators, or what amount to nuclear batteries—on such a long journey. Any changes could affect both the size of the spacecraft and the price tag, estimated to be a whopping $3 billion.   

Still, the team is excited by the prospect of doing its part to expand our knowledge of the universe by exploring Pluto.    

Jani Radebaugh , a planetary scientist and professor of geology at Brigham Young University, is the Persephone   team’s geologist, and she says the New Horizons findings caught her by surprise.  

“I think my prediction was this is going to be a cold and dead and cratered surface, because it’s so far out—it’s pretty small. And that’s just what we expect from small, icy bodies,” says Radebaugh. “But I was just completely amazed at what I saw. Instead, there was just a real diversity of landscapes and processes.” 

As for how long it would take to reap the benefits of a new mission to Pluto, Radebaugh said that even if she never sees it to completion, she hopes her efforts will benefit the next generation of space scientists.  

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13.7 Cosmos & Culture

How long would it take to drive to pluto.

We don't make very good judges of distance, not on cosmic scales at least. Using our own wanderings on Earth as the judge of all things, evolution has left us poorly prepared for the epic scales of all things astronomical.

This week, as a box of electronics called New Horizons prepares to complete a nearly 10-year journey to Pluto, it's a good moment to reflect on just how far away even the objects in our astronomical backyard are from us.

When astronomers measure distances in solar systems their meter stick is the average distance between Earth and the sun. It's called an astronomical unit , or AU, and it equals about 93 million miles. Earth obviously lives at 1 AU from the sun. Mars is about 1.5 AU. Jupiter orbits out at around 5 AU and Saturn, with its gorgeous rings, lives about twice as far out at almost 10 AU from the sun.

So where is Pluto?

Unlike the other planets whose tracks around our star are pretty much circles, Pluto's orbit swings in and out on a highly elliptical orbit. It comes as "close" to the sun as 30 or so AU (inside Neptune's orbit) and as far out as almost 50 AU. At an average distance of 3.7 billion miles from the sun, wee Pluto lives in a world of perpetual twilight.

But exactly how far is 3.7 billion miles?

The problem with astronomical distances is simple. Once you get past a couple hundred thousand of anything, who can really tell the difference? How much bigger is 10 billion miles compared to 75 million miles? It's not like we have day-to-day experience with this kind of thing. So, what do we have visceral experience with when it comes to distance?

Driving. We do a lot of driving.

As everyone knows, being in the car for 10 minutes is not a big deal — but a 10 hour drive will suck the life out of you. That means we all use time to understand distance. Buffalo is an hour away from where I live in Rochester. New York City, however, is 5 1/2 hours. Washington, D.C., is 10 hours, Minneapolis is two days and LA is a long week of back pain, junk food, monotony and some spectacular views.

So, if it's a week to cross the country, how long would it take to drive to Pluto?

Doing the simplest calculation possible assumes a straight-line trip from Earth to the dwarf planet, ignoring each planet's motion as well as the need to stop and pee. In our calculation, we will also promise to be good and not speed, keeping a steady 65 miles per hour the whole way. And to keep things simple, let's use Pluto's average orbital distance of 39 AU. So, when we put all this together how long would our solar-system-spanning road trip last?

Just a mere 6,293 years (give or take a few decades).

Oh, come on now. Stop complaining. That's not so bad. It's actually less time than some creationists think the universe has existed. Of course, a 6,293-year-long road trip is not something you want to try with little kids. The asteroid belt is nothing but tourist traps, and the rest stops really thin out after Saturn.

Some of you will want to consider flying.

Luckily, at a Boeing 777's maximum velocity of 590 miles per hour, the trip to Pluto will take only about 680 years. Make sure you pick up some sandwiches and Cinnabons in the airport before you leave because you can bet the flight attendants are gonna run out of boxed meals before you even get past Mars.

So, when New Horizons zooms past Pluto on July 14, giving us our first view of the solar system's outer output, show some respect. Blown off the Earth with the fastest speed ever (for a launched spacecraft), it's now traveling at more than 50,000 miles per hour . The voyage that would have taken you more than 6,000 years in an SUV or 600 years in a jetliner has taken New Horizons a little under a decade. And after Pluto, New Horizons will sail through the Kuiper Belt (an extended ring of planetary construction debris) and out, eventually, toward the stars.

But that is another long, long, very long story.

Adam Frank is a co-founder of the 13.7 blog, an astrophysics professor at the University of Rochester, a book author and a self-described "evangelist of science." You can keep up with more of what Adam is thinking on Facebook and Twitter: @adamfrank4 .

• new horizons

The Nine Planets

How Long Does it Take to Get to Pluto?

It only takes a glimpse into the night sky to realize our closest neighbor is the Moon, our own natural satellite. Traveling a distance of roughly 240,000 miles (386,400 kilometers) it takes around 3 days to make a one way journey to the Moon. The planets of our solar system are much further away some more so than others so dwarf planets like Pluto take a long time to reach.

What Is Pluto?

Pluto is a minor-planet located in the Kuiper belt which is located past Neptune. It is the ninth-largest object which directly orbits our star, the Sun. As part of the Kuiper belt it is made primarily of ice and rock and is vastly smaller than our solar system’s inner planets.

It is in fact smaller than Earth’s Moon with a mass 6 times smaller and a volume that is roughly one-third of the Moon’s. Discovered in 1930 it was initially termed the ninth planet of our solar system. This has however since changed.

Why Is Pluto Not a Planet Anymore?

For many years following its discovery there was contention with regards to it being an actual planet. In 2006 the International Astronomical Union IAU set out three basic rules to define a planet these rules are:

• The object must orbit the sun
• It must be large enough to be rounded by its own gravity
• It must have cleared the neighborhood around its orbit

This was a case of two out of three not being good enough and Pluto failed based on the last rule. Clearing the neighborhood requires that the object is gravitationally dominant around its own orbit. This is not the case with Pluto. It therefore is classified as a dwarf planet.

How Far Is Pluto from Earth?

As with all planets in our solar system the distance between them varies depending on their positions in their respective orbits around the Sun. When Earth and Pluto are on opposite sides of the sun they are 4.67 billion miles apart. At their closest point however they are 2.66 billion miles apart.

How Far Is Pluto from the Sun?

The distance between the Sun and Earth is equivalent to a unit of measure known as astronomical units (AU) and Pluto sits 39 AU away from our solar system’s only star. This means on average it is 3.7 billion miles (5.9 billion kilometers) away from the Sun.

How Long Does It Take Pluto to Go Around the Sun?

When we talk about any planet’s orbit around the Sun, especially with regards to how long it takes to complete its circuitous journey, we refer to its orbital period. Pluto is one of the more distant planetary bodies from the Sun in our solar system so its orbital period is quite long.

It takes Pluto 90,530 Earth days or roughly 248 Earth years for Pluto to complete a full orbit around the Sun. To put this in perspective when Pluto was last in the same position in its orbit as it is in 2023 certain historical events were taking place. These included:

• The start of the American Revolutionary War
• Pope Pius VI became the 250th Pope
• André-Marie Ampère, French physicist and mathematician died

Pluto’s Structure

The basic internal structure of Pluto includes a silicate based core surrounded by a liquid water ocean and a final water ice crust. Pluto’s plains region on the surface is likely composed of at least 98% nitrogen ice with trace amounts of both methane and carbon monoxide.

Pluto’s mountains are thought to be composed of water ice. These various types of surface ice create a look to Pluto’s surface of diverse colorations. This creates a lot of contrast on the surface making it one of the most visually spectacular bodies in our solar system.

The color of Pluto varies from charcoal black, to dark orange and white. In appearance it is similar although less orange to Jupiter’s moon Io but significantly less red than Mars. Notable geographic features on the surface of Pluto include:

• Tombaugh Regio (the Heart)
• Cthulhu Macula (the Whale)
• Brass Knuckles

A lack of significant craters on the surface of Pluto indicate that its current surface may be between 140,000 – 270,000 years old. It is characterized by mountains, valleys, plains and craters which experience surface temperatures of -375 to -400 degrees Fahrenheit (-226 to -240 degrees Celsius).

The huge mountains of Pluto, some reaching 9800 feet in height are made of water ice with a frosting of frozen methane. When it comes to the plains regions they appear to be made of frozen nitrogen gas.

There is, according to experts, a thin but somewhat tenuous atmosphere on Pluto which grows as it gets closer to the Sun and shrinks back as it moves away.

Magnetosphere

Scientists currently think it is unlikely that Pluto has a magnetic field. This is because of its small size and slow rotation, both of which indicate little to no magnetic activity on Pluto.

Does Pluto Have Moons?

According to NASA Pluto has five known moons: Charon, Nix, Hydra, Kerbos and Styx. Prevailing theories suggest these moons may have formed as a result of Pluto colliding with another body in space that may have been similar in size to itself.

Its largest moon Charon is roughly half Pluto’s size making it the largest moon in comparison to the planet it orbits. Charon’s orbit is such that it matches the rotation of Pluto meaning that it is always visible from the same portion of the planet. It does not rise or fall in the sky and the other side of the planet does not get to see Charon at all.

History of the Observation of Pluto

Unlike most of the other planets in our solar system Pluto was not visible to the astronomers of the ancient world . It would take considerable strides in the world of telescope technology in fact for us to even suspect another planet’s existence beyond the known planet Neptune.

It was in the 1840s that Urbain Le Verrier would use Newtonian mechanics to predict the presence of Neptune. This was based on the effects the planet exerted on Uranus’s orbit. Once Neptune was discovered however it was then deemed that it might not just be Neptune that was affecting Uranus, this led to the presence of a second planet being theorized.

The search for this illusive ninth planet captured the imagination of professional and amateur astronomers alike for decades. Some of them even captured Pluto on images with their telescopes but were sadly not aware of what they had found until much later.

A project to find the elusive “Planet X” as it was known started in 1906. It was wealthy Bostonian Percival Lowell, founder of Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona that would spend his final years searching for this ninth planet. Lowell would capture Pluto in two faint images in 1915 but he did not know what he was seeing.

Lowell died in 1916 and the project stalled until his widow petitioned the observatory to resume the search, which it did in 1929. Clyde Tombaugh was tasked with the painstaking project but after a year he would finally locate Pluto and its official existence was reported to Harvard College Observatory on March 13th 1930.

Space Exploration

Pluto has only recently been approached using terrestrial spacecraft in the form of the 2015 New Horizons mission. Originally launched in 2006 it made its closest pass on July 14th 2015. A great deal was learned from the mission and some amazing images were beamed back to Earth.

To date this is the only mission to Pluto although scientists continue to advocate for new missions with further scientific intentions. There is a hope to one day map the entire surface of Pluto and make further investigations of the planet’s moons.

How Long Does It Take to Get to Pluto?

As mentioned there has only so far been one mission that passed by Pluto and this was the New Horizons spacecraft. It took 9 years and 5 months to complete its journey traveling at the highest speeds possible.

If we were to try and enter orbit for more in depth research it would take considerably longer because speeds would need to be decreased to ensure capture into orbit around this dwarf planet.

Final Thoughts

Pluto was once considered a planet but was downgraded a few years ago to dwarf planet status. We know a fair amount about it thanks to deep space observation and a flyby mission in 2015. At that time it took the better part of a decade to make the journey but a more in depth study may require slower speeds and take a lot longer.

What Would It Be Like to Live on Pluto?

 In 2006, Pluto lost its status as a planet when it was reclassified as a dwarf planet, a move that caused much controversy and debate. Whether you believe Pluto should still be considered a full-fledged planet or not, one thing is certain: The object is shrouded in mystery, and we don't have a complete picture of what it would be like to live there.

"We've never been to [Pluto] or anything like it," planetary scientist Alan Stern told Space.com.

NASA 's New Horizons probe will become the first spacecraft ever to visit Pluto, making a close flyby of the dwarf planet on July 14. "We'll know a lot more about Pluto when New Horizons gets there," said Stern, who's the principle investigator of the mission. [ Living on Pluto: Dwarf Planet Facts Explained (Infographic) ]

If you lived on  Pluto right now, it would take about 4.5 hours for your messages to reach home. But the exact amount of time it would take for such a message would vary greatly throughout Pluto's year, which lasts 248 Earth years. Pluto travels along a highly elliptical orbit that brings it inside Neptune's orbit for 20 years; during this time, when Pluto is closest to Earth, a message sent home would take about four hours. But when Pluto is farthest from Earth, that message would travel for over 6.5 hours before reaching its destination.

Depending on where it is in its orbit, you can expect freezing temperatures on Pluto  that vary from minus 369 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 223 Celsius) to minus 387 F (minus 233 C). This relatively small shift in temperature may also affect the dwarf planet's atmosphere.

When Pluto is closer to the sun, the ices on the dwarf planet's surface sublimate (transform from a solid to a gas), creating a tenuous atmosphere. Computer models suggest this atmosphere allows for atmospheric winds of 225 mph (362 km/h) and a surface pressure that's currently about 3 microbars (Earth's surface pressure is 1 bar), though it's unknown what kind of weather patterns Pluto may have. It's expected that Pluto's atmosphere virtually disappears when the dwarf planet is farthest from the sun and the atmosphere's gases transition back to ice.

Photos from the Hubble Space Telescope show that the surface of Pluto has large differences in brightness, suggesting the dwarf planet may have a varied landscape. But nobody knows what Pluto's geomorphology or geology is really like.

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If you were to go off exploring Pluto's surface, you shouldn't expect a long trip. Pluto is only about two-thirds as wide as Earth's moon and has about the same surface area as Russia. Additionally, its gravity is only one-fifteenth that of Earth's, so you'd only weigh 10 lbs. (4.5 kilograms) on Pluto if you weighed 150 lbs. (68 kg) on Earth.

Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, are tidally locked, so one side of Pluto and one side of Charon always face one another . If you were standing on the side of Pluto facing Charon, the moon would appear quite large. As a comparison, on Earth, you could blot out the full moon with your thumb if you held out your arm, but it would take almost your entire fist to block Charon while standing on Pluto, Stern said. 

Pluto's next two largest moons, Nix and Hydra, would also be visible with your naked eye. Pluto's other kmown moons are Kerberos and Styx.

At midday on Pluto (the dwarf planet's day is 6.4 Earth days), the sun would look like Jupiter does from Earth — like a fat star — though much brighter, Stern said. "The sun would be about as bright on Pluto as it is on the Earth on a very cloudy day."

Finally, it's not clear what kinds of dangers you'd face on Pluto, aside from cosmic radiation and the cold. "Whether there are other environmental dangers like volcanoes or geysers, we just don't know," Stern said.

Editor's Note : This part of Space.com's 12-part series " Living on Other Planets: What It Would Be Like " to see what an astronaut would see on other planets and moons of our solar system and beyond. Check back each Tuesday to see what humans might encounter on other cosmic bodies in the universe.

Follow Joseph Castro on Twitter . Follow us   @Spacedotcom ,   Facebook and Google+ . Original article on Space.com .

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

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Question   Why can’t we go to Pluto?

• Thread starter Thomas Likes Space
• Start date Mar 15, 2021
• Our Solar System

• Thomas Likes Space

This is Thomas

• Mar 15, 2021

As of now, space-facts.com’s theories are trustable. They say, Pluto has 3 TIMES more water! The surface is ice (this is all about space-facts.com). Taking on a warm jacket, shoes and other things and take the flight.  

Catastrophe

"science begets knowledge, opinion ignorance..

So in general, we could go out and go to Pluto, For a lifetime. Because i am interested in space, if we decide, it’s a lifetime choice with no way of regreting. My only question is, can we?  

ThomasResearch said: My only question is, can we? Click to expand...

XXXXXUSERXXXXX

We did go to Pluto, we just can't move in.  

XXXXXUSERXXXXX said: We did go to Pluto, we just can't move in. Click to expand...

• Mar 16, 2021

Catastrophe said: BTW, when sending a human you need life support for all those years . Food, water, etcetera. Cat Click to expand...

Grinning Bandicoot

Having read comments about the costs with a manned expedition Ed Lerner offered a technique but its very bandwidth intensive. Another come from history and that of asceticism where one is launched on way with life support for one and a structure designed to be added to. Ascetic two launches with the same life support and a structure to add to the first and provide different and added capabilities. This continues until structure is built out and ready for a monastic community. It all winds down to how much energy we wish to spend and the costs of the energy  

rj.rivero said: Yes in that case is cheaper to send robots, they can do almost a human can do in the planet, robots donot breath, donot eat, they dont have problem with hot or cold weather, and radiation donot afect them. Click to expand...

ThomasResearch said: As of now, space-facts.com’s theories are trustable. They say, Pluto has 3 TIMES more water! The surface is ice (this is all about space-facts.com). Taking on a warm jacket, shoes and other things and take the flight. Click to expand...

Catastrophe said: You are talking about a lifetime - and that is assuming humans could travel at the same speed. Cat Click to expand...

HarmsworthAG

My Mark Noble Space Adventures series of novels deals with the possibilities at Trappist-1. Red Dwarf systems are often older than ours. Trappist-1 could be over 7 billion years old. Getting to Trappist-1 is the problem. I've addressed it as best I can in Trappist-1 and The Spolding Conundrum. Have I got the possibilities right, I wonder.  

Richard Popovich

ThomasResearch said: So in general, we could go out and go to Pluto, For a lifetime. Because i am interested in space, if we decide, it’s a lifetime choice with no way of regreting. My only question is, can we? Click to expand...

• Mar 17, 2021

With our present setup, there is also another reasons that we can't go to Pluto. We would need to have a power source such as nuclear that doesn't depend on the sun. Only Russia has been using nuclear. Problem is that we haven't figured out how to make it safe and lightweight for the long haul. The reason that the Horizon made it was because it would go into hibernation until awakened for tasks thus saving energy. That would be difficult with people on board.  

Brigitte Kreisl-walch

Too far away and too cold !  

"Can we?" No. What's the phrase, "You can look, but don't touch!" "Touching" will require extraordinary costs and efforts; far too much "squeeze for the juice". Starting with the Moon or Mars is the only logical choice and by a long shot.  

Are the people making this journey to the wilds of the outer solar system seafood lovers? Cephalopod mollusks - octopus, squid, etc - came from somewhere, after all. Their oxygen carrying pigment in their blood is copper (hemocyanin) rather than iron (hemoglobin). Copper-rich blood operates better at very cold temperatures than does iron-rich blood. Crustaceans too have copper carrying blood. If you look at the population of the sea floor near Alaska - Kamchatka or Antarctica, the place is thick with mollusks and crustaceans. Copper carrying blood, btw, is not red but rather, blue. Pluto seems like a long way to go for crab scampi or calamar. How about we do lunch instead at Europa or Enceladus?  

• Mar 18, 2021

If we accept that using current technology, travel to Pluto would be in the realm of 9+ years (1 way). This would be a lifetime round trip close to 20 years and the logistics required for such a journey would be astronomical. The toll it would take on any human astronaut would be considerable and possibly debilitating unless newer technologies are developed to shorten this time to travel in terms of newer/more efficient propulsion systems or the use of "life support"pods to allow the astronaut to travel safely cocooned. I think the title of Australian author Geoffrey Blainey 's book said it all, "The Tyranny of Distance".  

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Astronomers Propose New Criteria to Classify Planets, but Pluto Still Doesn’t Make the Cut

The new definition would define planets based on mass, rather than more ambiguous shape and size characteristics

Margherita Bassi

Correspondent

Nearly two decades after Pluto got kicked out of the planet club, astronomers are proposing an updated way to define “planet” based on more measurable criteria. The current definition is “problematic” and “vague,” they write in a paper published Wednesday in The Planetary Science Journal .

Unfortunately for fans of the dwarf planet, however, Pluto would remain excluded, even if the proposal is approved.

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union updated its definition for a planet, ruling that for a celestial body to officially make the cut, it must orbit around the sun, contain enough mass to become “nearly round” due to its own force of gravity, and clear away any debris (excluding moons or other satellites) in its orbital path. The last point is what ultimately declassified Pluto , since it is not large enough to influence other objects in the neighborhood around its orbit.

Now, the three planetary scientists involved in the new proposal have raised several issues with that definition. For starters, the fact that a planet must orbit the sun—as in our sun—narrows down the number of “planets” to exactly the eight in our own solar system, excluding the rest of the universe. These criteria also don’t involve any numbers.

“The problem in the past was, you had a word ‘planet’ but you didn’t have a quantitative definition of it,” Brett Gladman , an astronomer at the University of British Columbia and one of the authors of the paper, tells Live Science ’s Kristel Tjandra.

In other words, how round is “nearly round”? And exactly how clear should the celestial body’s orbit be of debris?

“Jupiter’s orbit is crossed by comets and asteroids, as is Earth’s,” Gladman points out in a university statement . “Have those planets not cleared their orbit and thus, aren’t actually planets?”

In a bid to correct for this ambiguity, Gladman and his two colleagues propose a more measurable definition. According to their model, a celestial body is a planet if it: orbits one or more stars, brown dwarfs or stellar remnants; is more massive than 10 23 kilograms (a size big enough to clear its orbit of debris); and is less massive than 2.5 x 10 28 kilograms (equivalent to 13 Jupiter masses).

Pluto’s mass is 1.31 x 10 22 kilograms, so it would remain excluded—but our current eight planets would retain their classification.

To confirm the legitimacy of this new definition, the team took a mathematical algorithm that groups together similar objects and applied it to the bodies in our solar system. The algorithm grouped our eight planets in one cluster and the dwarf planets in another, confirming the existence of shared qualities among them and validating the logic of their new categorization criteria.

The proposed definition has another benefit—it removes the need to measure an object’s roundness. Especially when it comes to distant exoplanets, it is difficult to make an exact observance of just how spherical a celestial body is. But, at least in our solar system, objects that fall within the researchers’ proposed range of masses tend to be round. These new guidelines, then, would make it easier to consider far-off worlds to be planets.

In the words of Gizmodo ’s Isaac Schultz, “the move would take us away from an isolationist classification of our own existence; instead of planets just being our cosmic neighbors, planets could refer to any one of the countless worlds in our universe.”

Ultimately, the astronomers hope to inspire more discussions on what exactly makes a planet a planet, even though any formal change to the definition is probably a few years away. Not many astronomical objects have a very clear definition. But harnessing the meaning of “planet” gets at a human curiosity.

“There is no definition of what a star is, what a galaxy is, what a nebula is,” says Mike Brown , an astronomer at the California Institute of Technology who was not involved with the new paper, to New Scientist ’s Jonathan O’Callaghan. “Planets could have been the same way, except that the public want to know what the planets in the solar system are.”

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Margherita Bassi | READ MORE

Margherita Bassi is a trilingual storyteller and freelance journalist with a particular interest in ancient history, astronomy and human interest stories. 

New Evidence Adds to Findings Hinting at Network of Caves on Moon

An international team of scientists using data from NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) has discovered evidence of caves beneath the Moon’s surface.

In re-analyzing radar data collected by LRO’s Mini-RF (Miniature Radio-Frequency) instrument in 2010, the team found evidence of a cave extending more than 200 feet from the base of a pit. The pit is located 230 miles northeast of the first human landing site on the Moon in Mare Tranquillitatis . The full extent of the cave is unknown, but it could stretch for miles beneath the mare.

Scientists have suspected for decades that there are subsurface caves on the Moon, just like there are on Earth. Pits that may lead to caves were suggested in images from NASA’s lunar orbiters that mapped the Moon’s surface before NASA’s Apollo human landings. A pit was then confirmed in 2009 from images taken by JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Kaguya orbiter, and many have since been found across the Moon through images and thermal measurements of the surface taken by LRO. 

NASA’s LRO Finds Lunar Pits Harbor Comfortable Temperatures

“Now the analysis of the Mini-RF radar data tells us how far these caves might extend,” said Noah Petro , LRO project scientist based at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Lunar Pits Could Shelter Astronauts, Reveal Details of How ‘Man in the Moon’ Formed

Like “lava tubes” found here on Earth, scientists suspect that lunar caves formed when molten lava flowed beneath a field of cooled lava, or a crust formed over a river of lava, leaving a long, hollow tunnel. If the ceiling of a solidified lava tube collapses, it opens a pit, like a skylight, that can lead into the rest of the cave-like tube.

Mini-RF is operated by The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. LRO is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Launched on June 18, 2009, LRO has collected a treasure trove of data with its seven powerful instruments, making an invaluable contribution to our knowledge about the Moon. NASA is returning to the Moon with commercial and international partners to expand human presence in space and bring back new knowledge and opportunities.

By Lonnie Shekhtman

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

NASA is investing in a rocket that could get humans to Mars and back in 2 months — and travel at 100,000 mph

• NASA aims to send astronauts to Mars by the 2030s. But with current technology, the journey will be years long.
• That's why NASA invested in a new type of rocket that could shorten the trip to just 2 months.
• Reducing the amount of time astronauts spend in spaceflight is critical to their health.

NASA has invested $725,000 in a new rocket system that could solve one of the major obstacles standing in our way of sending humans to Mars : travel time.

With current technology, a round-trip to the red planet would take almost two years. For astronauts, spending that much time in spaceflight comes with big health risks.

They'd be exposed to high levels of solar and cosmic radiation , the harmful effects of zero-gravity, and a long period of isolation.

Space radiation is arguably the biggest threat. Astronauts who spend just six months in space are exposed to roughly the same amount of radiation as 1,000 chest X-rays, and this puts them at risk for cancer, nervous system damage, bone loss, and heart disease, according to NASA.

The best way to reduce radiation exposure and other harmful health effects is to shorten the length of the trip, Troy Howe, president of Howe Industries, told Business Insider. That's why he's teamed up with NASA to develop the Pulsed Plasma Rocket (PPR): a new rocket system that could shorten a round-trip to Mars to just two months.

This technology "holds the potential to revolutionize space exploration," NASA wrote in a statement , and could one day take humans even further than Mars.

How a rocket could get us to Mars and back in 2 months

The PPR is a propulsion system that uses pulses of superheated plasma to generate a lot of thrust very efficiently. It's currently in phase two of development, funded by the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program.

This phase two study is scheduled to begin this month, and is focused on optimizing the engine design, performing proof-of-concept experiments, and designing a PPR-powered, shielded spaceship for human missions to Mars .

The big advantage of the PPR is that it can make a spacecraft go really, really fast. It has both a high thrust and high specific impulse. Specific impulse is how quickly a rocket engine generates thrust, and thrust is the force that moves the spacecraft along.

The PPR generates 10,000 newtons of thrust at a specific impulse of 5,000 seconds. That means a PPR-equipped spacecraft carrying four to six passengers could travel roughly 100,000 miles per hour, Howe told BI over email.

A spacecraft flying that fast would eventually have to slow down to reach its destination. Howe said the company has accounted for the additional energy and propellant this would require to land on Mars.

Even after phase two is complete, it will still be about a couple of decades before the PPR is ready to blast astronauts off to the red planet. But once it's available for spaceflight, Howe hopes that this technology will significantly expand the range of human space exploration , perhaps even aiding missions to Pluto one day.

"​​You can pretty much achieve anything you want in the solar system once we get this technology running in 20 years," he said.

Watch: How the US' top multiple rocket launcher compares with Russia's BM-30 in the Ukraine war

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Your Daily Horoscope: Tuesday, July 23, 2024

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A Guide to All 12 Astrological Signs

Feathers could ruffle more easily than you'd imagine as the sun and Pluto face off, dearest Aries, and you'll want to maintain a healthy ego when dealing with difficult peers. Meanwhile, Luna makes her debut into Pisces and the sector of your chart that governs privacy, which could cause you to retreat. Don't hesitate to carve out some alone time if you get fed up with others, especially when the moon and Mars form a harsh square, which could drum up conflict if harsh words are exchanged. Above all else, be mindful to honor the voice within, taking time to hone your intuition.

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Taurus 

You could hit a wall when it comes to certain responsibilities, sweet Taurus, as the sun and Pluto face off in our skies. This cosmic climate will heighten emotions, causing you to question which struggles are truly worth it. Meanwhile, the moon makes her debut into Pisces and the sector of your chart that governs the community, urging you to seek support outside of yourself. Now is the ideal time to invest in your network, especially if you've been feeling bored or lonely recently. Keep tabs on your screen usage when Marts becomes agitated, or you could miss beautiful moments within the material realms.

Suspend your disbelief as the sun and Pluto face off, dearest Gemini, heightening your intuition and ability to connect with the beyond. Now is the ideal time to reflect on personal goals and where change is needed most, petitioning the universe for guidance and support. You'll sense a shift when the moon enters Pisces, setting your signs on new ambitions that ignite a hunger for success. This energy can also help you gain recognition within your field, especially when wisdom is shared with others. Just be mindful not to rush when Luna and Mars square off, or roadblocks could emerge.

You could encounter some rough edges as the sun and Pluto face off today, dearest Cancer, inflaming egos while putting others on edge. Choose your battles wisely during this time, as drama could easily spiral into something more intense. Luckily, the moon makes her debut into Pisces and your solar ninth house, making it easier to rise above tension and conflict. Pull from spiritual practices that help you feel at peace to make the most of these vibes. If necessary, take time out to blow off steam in private when Luna and Mars square off, especially if you start to feel irritable.

Tension could brew within matters of the heart as the sun and Pluto face off, dearest Leo, revealing the darker side of love. Keep your eyes peeled for red flags, but be mindful to keep a fair disposition. You'll crave chance once Luna migrates into Pisces and the sector of your chart that governs transformation, helping you pinpoint situations and people you've outgrown. Just try not to jump ship too quickly when it comes to moving away from friends, as a harsh square between Luna and Mars could lead to erratic and impulsive decisions that you may regret later.

Read More: The Best Careers for Each Zodiac Sign

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Details you once glossed over could be difficult to ignore today, dearest Virgo, as the sun and Pluto face off in our skies. Be mindful of what tasks need completing, but avoid going above and beyond to reach unreasonable standards of perfection. You'll notice a shift when the moon migrates into Pisces, putting you in the mood for a romantic connection. Use this energy as an excuse to engage in playful flirting. However, try not to get too carried away with your passionate side when Luna and Mars square off, as it would be easy to let go of your practical side.

Be mindful of who your true friends are, sweet Libra, as the sun and Pluto face off in our skies. This celestial standoff could skew your vision of others, and issues could arise if loyal companions are brushed to the side in favor of new and exciting connections. Rather than entangling yourself in social hierarchies, consider focusing on your health once the moon enters Pisces. This luminary placement emphasizes the importance of living well, encouraging you to establish routines that maximize both your efficiency and free time. Connect with your spirituality for further inspiration when Luna and Mars align.

Be mindful of your work/life balance as the sun and Pluto face off, dearest Scorpio, or you may hit emotional and mental walls. Combat this cosmic climate by adding more fun to your day as the moon enters Pisces, nudging you to seek pleasure where you can. This energy also promotes friendship and creativity, so be sure to direct your free time accordingly. Watch out for clashing egos when Luna and Mars square off, choosing your battles wisely to avoid major drama. If possible, remove yourself from triggering people and situations in the name of self-preservation.

Read More: Comfort Food You Should Eat According to Your Zodiac Sign

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Sagittarius

Keep an open mind as the sun and Pluto face off, Sagittarius, allowing your perspective to shift by calling in enlightenment and guidance from beyond. Your intuition heightens as the moon enters watery Pisces and your solar fourth house, though blocking out other people's emotions and energy could become challenging. Be mindful of who you surround yourself with when Luna and Mars square off, especially if you start to feel off balance. Plan on closing out the day with some extra self-care from the comfort of home, giving yourself space to fully unwind and decompress before heading to bed.

Do your best to stretch each dollar as the sun and Pluto face off, sweet Capricorn, which could put pressure on your bank account. If your finances are entangled with a romantic or business partner, now may be a good time to review your monetary strategies. Your wits sharpen as the moon migrates into Pisces, heightening your conversational skills and emotional intelligence. Try not to demand perfection from yourself or others when Luna squares off with Mars, or frustrations could bubble to the surface. Feed your mind before heading to bed, taking notes on any brilliant ideas that pop up.

Your relationships could hit a tipping point as the sun and Pluto face off, dearest Aquarius, bringing transformative vibes your way. Use this energy to consider where you receive the most fulfillment, devoting more time to the people and situations that lift you. Slow down to connect with your heart and sense of gratitude when the moon enters Pisces, helping you align with the beauty surrounding you. Look for opportunities to build a healthy ego when Luna and Mars square off, especially if self-doubt starts to creep in. Reap the rewards of your hard work with a little treat before ending the day.

Pisces 

Remember that it's up to you to make the most of each day, dearest Pisces. As the sun and Pluto face off in our skies, you'll be asked to identify and break free from any habits holding you back. Now is the time to fully invest in your goals by approaching them with practicality and patience. Hard work may not deliver immediate results but will get you where you want to be in the long run. Luckily, you'll understand your true desires with more clarity once Luna enters your sign, but try not to let emotions or impulses muddle the path ahead when Mars becomes agitated.

. A Guide to All 12 Astrological Signs

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This article was posted on UAEMoments

Inside NBC's extravagant plans to bring you Paris Olympics coverage from *every* angle

For more than two weeks this summer, NBC will command the eyes of the sporting world from the Unites States at the 2024 Paris Olympics .

And there is a staggering number of ways to consume the countless hours of competition from the 32 sports on display, along with the discussion and viral moments that build off the action.

To make the best viewing decisions at home, here is everything you need to know about NBC’s plans to cover the 2024 Paris Olympics in the United States, including which channels Team USA’s biggest stars will air on, the streaming options available throughout the day and how the network will plan its nightly “Primetime in Paris” show.

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What channels are the Paris Olympics on? How can you stream it?

NBC, which saw strong viewership during Olympic trials , will be the daytime and primetime home of the network’s coverage. But the full might of NBCUniversal will be behind the operation.   

Meet Team USA: See which athletes made the U.S. Olympic team and where they are from

Peacock will stream every sport and event , including all 329 medal events. Full-event replays will be available on demand on top of all NBC programming, curated video clips and original content.

USA Network will be the primary home for team sports and programs with longer run-times, such as swimming heats, track and field, soccer, basketball, 3x3 basketball, beach volleyball, rugby, cycling, volleyball and water polo.

CNBC will feature boxing, cycling, rugby and skateboarding. E! has coverage of track and field, gymnastics, canoeing, diving, equestrian, artistic swimming, breaking, fencing and water polo.

GOLF Channel carries live golf competition from Le Golf National.

What Olympics sports will air live daytime vs. primetime?

All events are available live in the U.S., whether that’s on one of the cable networks, NBC, or strictly Peacock. There will be live competition content to consume daily from 4 a.m. ET to 6 p.m. ET.

“Really, the consumer can find whatever they’re looking for live during the day,” NBC Olympics president and executive producer Molly Solomon told USA TODAY Sports in June. “And that’s the beauty of the European time zone.”

In primetime, starting at 8 p.m. ET (2 a.m. the following day in Paris), NBC’s marquee broadcast will air live and focus on the biggest events of the day with “Primetime in Paris.” That block will have a storytelling lens with more in-depth coverage opportunities. Mike Tirico will be the host from Paris’ famed Trocadero, with the Eiffel Tower serving as the backdrop.

The show will typically open with highlights from a Team USA gold medal and the last hour of the show will revolve around the event of the night.

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NBC’s plans for Olympics opening ceremony in Paris

Solomon credited Paris 2024 organizers for throwing out the “tradition playbook” and setting the opening ceremony on the Seine River, with athletes floating through the city.

“When people ask, ‘What are you most excited about?’ It has to be the opening ceremonies because something like this has never been done before,” Solomon said.

She added: “It’s audacious, it’s bold, it’s daring, and it’s going to be unforgettable.”

From a technical, television perspective, it will be the most complicated event that has ever been produced. The Olympic Broadcasting Service (OBS) will have 100 cameras along the parade route. Each delegation will have access to a live mobile phone camera on the boat. NBC will be tracking the U.S. team’s route, and the Americans will be second-to-last down the river because the U.S. hosts the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

NBC will have an additional 40 cameras on the scene. Reporter Maria Taylor will be embedded with Team USA interviewing athletes from the water. “Today” show hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb will be on a bridge over the Seine.

Kelly Clarkson and Peyton Manning will join Tirico as hosts on the broadcast. Live coverage begins at noon ET and primetime starts at 7:30 p.m. ET.

“France is throwing the world’s biggest party,” Solomon said, “and we get to be there.”

How many times has Mike Tirico hosted the Olympics?

The face of NBC’s coverage is Tirico, who is also the network’s frontman for NFL games. This will be his fifth Olympics assignment and fourth time as the television host of the games; he first replaced Bob Costas in that role at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

At the Beijing 2022 Winter Games, Tirico returned to the U.S. to call Super Bowl 56 between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals.

Tirico will be on double-duty in strictly a Parisian sense this time. He will be around for about three hours of live coverage during the daytime and then once primetime begins at 8 p.m. ET.

“There haven’t been many people who have the chance to be the lead voice on a sport like the NFL and be the Olympic host, and I love the fact I get to do both and get the opportunity,” Tirico told USA TODAY Sports.

What is NBC's Olympic 'Gold Zone'?

For football fans who like their football Sundays with a helping of “NFL Red Zone,” there is good news. There could be up to 40 events happening simultaneously, so NBC green-lit “Gold Zone,” a whiparound format that shows the action as it is happening.

Bringing in Scott Hanson, who anchors “Red Zone” during the fall, “was kind of a layup,” Solomon said. The built-in credibility he brings to the audience helps.

Solomon traveled to Los Angeles to sell Hanson on the idea. Since then, she said, he has been invested to the point of making sure the set design can sustain that type of broadcast. Hanson would know. He has pushed producers and voiced his ideas.

“Because he knows that this is even more difficult than the NFL … I’ve been so impressed by his work ethic,” Solomon said. “He is so committed to making this a success and doing it well.”

Hanson will also be joined by Andrew Siciliano, Matt Iseman and Jac Collinsworth as “Gold Zone” hosts. “Gold Zone” will stream live on Peacock from 7 a.m.-5 p.m. ET daily from July 27-Aug. 10. Collinsworth replaced Akbar Gbajabiamila, who is the newest member of "Good Morning Football." The revamped version of that show debuts July 29, impacting Gbajabiamila's availability.

Will Michael Phelps be back at the Olympics?

The most-decorated American male athlete in Olympic history is back as a broadcast contributor.

Michael Phelps will be a contributor in Paris similar to how the network deployed him three years ago. Should another massive story come about, such as Simone Biles’ mental injury in Tokyo, Phelps would be asked to provide analysis and perspective from his point-of-view in a studio format. Other times, he will be at the pool deck with Dan Hicks and Rowdy Gaines helping call the swimming action.

“We definitely flex according to where we think he is best positioned to contribute,” Solomon said.

Is Dwyane Wade auditioning for big NBC job during Olympics?  

NBC tabbed Noah Eagle to call Team USA basketball, and on the men’s side , assigned Dwyane Wade to be the color commentator.

Solomon said that she is always looking for new voices and that Wade checked the box of having international competition experience. She knows that he hasn’t done a lot of game calling, but had been impressed by his previous work in the studio with TNT – being friends with LeBron James also helps.

“He’s so thoughtful, and of course, has experience with so many members of the team,” Solomon said. “So I think there’ll be a lot of personal storytelling. He’ll have access to members of that team to get new insight. And I look forward to hearing a new voice in the basketball space.”

And after this summer, Wade could be in line for a more permanent job at NBC with the network gaining NBA rights in the league’s newest media deal set to begin at the start of the 2025-26 season.

LaChina Robinson will join Eagle for Team USA women’s basketball contests.

Who are the Olympic gymnastics broadcasters?

Gymnastics coverage will be paramount, and NBC knows that. Explaining the complex scoring system can be confusing to the casual viewer at home.

Solomon feels like reporter/analyst John Roethlisberger has a strong chance of being the network’s breakout star in Paris because of his ability to analogize what’s happening on the mat to other sports fans may be more familiar with. And the three-time Olympian can also dive into the weeds of judges’ opinions should that be necessary.

He’ll be joined by the other 2024 Paris Olympics NBC announcers for gymnastics:

• Primetime show: Terry Gannon (play-by-play), Tim Daggett (analyst), Samantha Peszek (analyst), John Roethlisberger (analyst/reporter), Zora Stephenson (reporter)
• Live daytime: Rich Lerner (play-by-play), Laurie Hernandez (analyst), Justin Spring (analyst), Zora Stephenson (reporter)

Who is calling track and field at the 2024 Olympics?

The 2024 Paris Olympics NBC announcers for track and field are:

• Live finals and primetime: Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), Paul Swangard (play-by-play), Ato Boldon (analyst), Sanya Richards-Ross (analyst), Kara Goucher (analyst), Trey Hardee (analyst), Lewis Johnson (reporter)
• Live preliminary heats: Bill Spaulding (play-by-play), Dawn Harper-Nelson (analyst), Shannon Rowbury (analyst), Lewis Johnson (reporter)

Wait, is Alex Cooper part of NBC’s Olympics coverage?

NBC wants to broaden its audience, particularly among young people, and brought in contributors “to bring that enthusiasm and maybe a different perspective to what we’re doing,” Solomon said. The contributors, such as “Call Her Daddy” podcast host Alex Cooper , have different fan bases demographically.

“That’s really why we wanted to integrate pop culture into what we’re doing,” Solomon said. “But I always want to maintain that competition is at the core of what we do.”

“Watch with Alex Cooper” will stream on Peacock as a series of live, interactive, picture-in-picture watch parties streaming on Peacock that serves as sort of a companion-cast to the action. (Think “Manningcast” vibes without the detailed football analysis.) The show will include social media reaction and guests.

“We are trying a lot of different things to make sure we elevate the Olympics and the stories, and that’s why we went for some different voices this time around,” Solomon said.

At a media event this summer, Cooper said she wants Gen-Z women to participate in the Games in a less-intimidating way. She sat down for an interview with Simone Biles in which the gymnast opened up about her "twisties" experience in Tokyo in 2021.

Is Snoop Dogg back at the Olympics?

With his mind on the Olympics and the Olympics on his mind, Snoop Dogg is, indeed, back. He’s primed for a bigger role three years after his reactions to the dressage competition with Kevin Hart went viral.

Snoop will be a regular on “Primetime in Paris.” Parts of the primetime show being taped allows for Snoop to spend time with Team USA athletes, their families, or explore Paris and relay findings and insights to the wider audience that night.

Snoop expressed interest about a year ago, and Solomon was struck by his passion for telling athletes’ stories and his love for the Olympics. He was at track and field trials in June to start laying the groundwork for his summer job.

“‘Where is Snoop?’ I hope it becomes a popular guessing game of what we’re doing that day,” Solomon said.

Hart and Kenan Thompson will host a commentary series called “Olympic Highlights with Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson.”

How will NBC cover Israel-Palestine, Russia-Ukraine, and other world events at the 2024 Olympics?

International relations bleed into Olympic competition. That is the nature of the Games. The Olympics also produces lots of news. The plan, Solomon said, is to cover it as the news happens and to collaborate with NBC News.

“Are we going to cover controversy? Of course we’re going to cover controversy,” Solomon said. “But unless it is huge news, we’re not going to live in it. We’re going to cover it and we’re going to cover the Olympic Games.”

Can I watch the 2024 Paris Olympics in Spanish?

Yes. Telemundo is the exclusive Spanish-language home for the Olympics in the U.S. Peacock will livestream all Telemundo and Universo programming. Telemundo will present a two-hour recap show that airs at 12 a.m. ET.

How many people work for NBC during the Olympics? Where are they?

Broadcasting the Games is a 3,000-person effort. Most of NBC's production team will be based at the NBCUniversal's Stamford, Connecticut, headquarters (approximately 2,000). There, they can use the hundreds of graphics production machines and hundreds of edit rooms to which they are accustomed.

The remainder will be stationed at the network's on-the-ground facility near Charles de Gaulle airport outside of Paris. It is a temporary structure that will be deconstructed at the Games' conclusion in accordance with Paris 2024's sustainability goals.

“It just becomes very, very difficult to build this up in an Olympic host city,” Solomon said. “When you have a state-of-the-art facility back home, it just makes too much sense.” 

Key announcers and hosts will be onsite. NBC has reporters at every venue during competition.

"We think we’ve got the right balance,” Solomon said.

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• Section 7 - Traveling with Pets & Service Animals
• Section 8 - Perspectives : Responding to Medical Emergencies When Flying

CDC Yellow Book 2024

Author(s): Tai-Ho Chen, Araceli Rey, Clive Brown

Preflight Medical Considerations

Cabin air pressure & chronic disease, thromboembolic disease, in-flight transmission of communicable diseases, in-flight medical emergencies, preparing aircrew.

In 2019, 4.5 billion passengers took nearly 47 million international flights. The following year, annual global passenger air travel volume decreased by nearly two-thirds (1.8 billion passengers took 22 million flights), a consequence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The pandemic reversed a trend of annually increasing air travel volume, attributable at least in part to the implementation of travel restrictions by many countries.

To promote safe travel during the pandemic, in July 2020 the US Department of Transportation and other government agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), collaborated to publish Runway to Recovery: The United States Framework for Airlines and Airports to Mitigate the Public Health Risks of Coronavirus. Runway to Recovery was based in part on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) report and guidance document, Take Off: Guidance for Air Travel through the COVID-19 Public Health Crisis, which includes a section on public health risk mitigation measures countries can use in the travel sector. These measures, among others, helped bolster passenger and aviation worker confidence that air travel could be conducted safely during the pandemic.

Travelers often have concerns about the health risks of flying on airplanes. Although illness might occur as a direct result of air travel, it is not commonly reported. Some main concerns include exacerbations of chronic medical conditions due to changes in air pressure and humidity; relative immobility during flights leading to thromboembolic disease; and risk for infection due to proximity to others on board who could have communicable diseases.

The Aerospace Medical Association recommends evaluating chronic medical conditions and addressing instabilities prior to travel, particularly in people with underlying cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic lung disease, mental illness, seizures, stroke, recent surgery, or a history of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism. Travelers should be current on routine vaccinations and receive destination-specific vaccinations before travel.

Pregnant Travelers

For information on contraindications and precautions related to flying during pregnancy, see Sec. 7, Ch. 1, Pregnant Travelers .

Travelers with Disabilities

The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has information for travelers with disabilities and medical conditions that might affect their security screening. Travelers with Disabilities (Sec. 3, Ch. 2) includes a table of useful online resources (see  Table 3-05 , Online resources for travelers with disabilities or chronic illnesses). For information on traveling with a service animal, see Sec. 7, Ch. 6, Traveling with Pets & Service Animals .

Travelers Who Require Supplemental Oxygen

Travelers who require supplemental in-flight oxygen should be aware that they must arrange for their own oxygen supplies while on the ground, at departure, during layovers, and upon arrival. Federal regulations prohibit passengers from bringing their own oxygen onboard flights; passengers should notify the airline ≥72 hours before departure if they require in-flight supplemental oxygen. In addition, airlines might not offer in-flight supplemental oxygen on all aircraft or flights, and some airlines permit only Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)–approved portable oxygen concentrators . See information about screening portable oxygen concentrators at US airports .

During normal flight conditions, FAA requires that commercial aircraft maintain a cabin pressure equivalent to a maximum altitude of 8,000 ft (≈2,440 m) above sea level. Cabin pressures are typically maintained at an equivalent of 6,000–8,000 ft (≈1,830–2,440 m) above sea level, but newer aircraft can maintain cabin air pressures equivalent to lower altitudes. Most travelers without preexisting health conditions will not notice any effects from the decreased partial pressure of oxygen at these cabin pressures. By contrast, a traveler with anemia (including sickle cell disease), cardiopulmonary disease (especially people who normally require supplemental oxygen), or cerebrovascular disease can experience an exacerbation of their underlying medical condition. In addition, aircraft cabin air is typically dry, usually 10%–20% humidity, which can cause dryness of the mucous membranes of the upper airway and eyes.

Barotrauma can occur when the pressure inside an air-filled, enclosed body space (e.g., abdomen, middle ear, sinuses) is not the same as the air pressure inside the aircraft cabin. Barotrauma most commonly occurs because of rapid changes in environmental pressure: during ascent, for example, when cabin pressure falls rapidly, and during descent, when cabin pressure quickly rises. Barotrauma most commonly affects the middle ear, and happens when the eustachian tube is blocked and a traveler is unable to equalize the air pressure in the middle ear with the outside cabin pressure.

Middle ear barotrauma is usually not severe or dangerous; rarely, though, it can cause complications (e.g., dizziness, hearing loss, a perforated tympanic membrane, permanent tinnitus). To help reduce the risks of barotrauma associated with cabin air pressure changes, travelers with ear, nose, and sinus infections or severe congestion might choose to postpone flying to prevent pain or injury, or use oral or nasal decongestants to help alleviate symptoms. Travelers with allergies should continue their regular allergy medications.

Travelers who have had recent surgery, particularly intra-abdominal, cardiothoracic, or intraocular procedures, should consult with their physician before flying. Travelers who participate in scuba diving should observe minimum recommended time intervals between diving and air travel to reduce the risk for altitude-induced decompression sickness (see Sec. 4, Ch. 4, Scuba Diving: Decompression Illness & Other Dive-Related Injuries , for details).

Decreased mobility during travel is associated with a small but measurable increased risk for venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, even in otherwise healthy travelers. The overall incidence of symptomatic venous thromboembolism in the month after travel is 1 in 4,600 flights of >4 hours in duration. Risk is increased by longer flight duration and is greater in people with known risk factors (e.g., clotting disorders, estrogen use, severe obesity, pregnancy, recent surgery or trauma, previous thrombosis). The American College of Chest Physicians recommends travelers on longer flights select aisle seats, walk frequently, and perform calf muscle exercises to reduce the risk for thrombosis. People with risk factors might benefit from wearing properly fitted graduated compression stockings (15–30 mmHg at the ankle) during flight. Aspirin has not been shown to decrease risk. See Sec. 8, Ch. 3, Deep Vein Thrombosis & Pulmonary Embolism , for more details).

Communicable diseases can be transmitted during air travel. People who are acutely ill or still within the infectious period for a specific disease should delay their travel until they are no longer contagious. For example, otherwise healthy adults can transmit influenza to others for 5–7 days, and transmission of respiratory viruses (e.g., measles) has been documented on commercial aircraft.

Travelers should wash their hands frequently and thoroughly or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing ≥60% alcohol, especially after using the airplane lavatory and before eating meals. Some diseases spread by contact with infectious droplets (e.g., when an ill person sneezes or coughs and the secretions or droplets land on another person’s face, mouth, nose, or eyes), or when an ill person touches communal surfaces (e.g., door handles, rest room faucets) with contaminated hands. Other people handling the contaminated surfaces can then be inoculated with the contaminant. Practicing good handwashing and respiratory hygiene (covering mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing) can help decrease the risk for infection by direct or indirect contact.

Cabin Ventilation & Air Filtration

Large commercial jet aircraft recirculate 35%–55% of the air in the cabin, mixed with outside air. The recirculated air passes through high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters that capture 99.97% of particles (bacteria, larger viruses or virus clumps, fungi) ≥0.3 µm in diameter. Furthermore, laminar airflow generally circulates in defined areas within the aircraft, thus limiting the radius of distribution of pathogens spread by small-particle aerosols. As a result, the cabin air environment is less conducive to the spread of most infectious diseases than typical environmental systems in buildings.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 & Air Travel

COVID-19 transmission during air travel has been documented. In general, COVID-19 transmission risk on aircraft remains difficult to quantify and is likely to be affected by evolving administrative, engineering, and other controls being widely implemented in the commercial air travel sector. In 2020, as described in the introduction to this chapter, US government agencies and the ICAO each developed guidance for the airline industry to use in response to the pandemic. Recommendations included maximizing total cabin airflow on commercial aircraft during both ground and flight operations; implementing surface decontamination measures aimed at reducing risk for contact with infectious droplets; and modifying passenger movement patterns before, during, and after travel.

Travelers should familiarize themselves with the latest COVID-19–related requirements when planning air travel and, as their departure date approaches, follow the guidance of corresponding health authorities. People with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 should not travel until they are no longer thought to be contagious; similarly, those exposed might need to delay travel based on their history of infection or vaccination, according to current guidance.

Increasing numbers of travelers combined with an ever larger percentage of older passengers make the incidence of onboard medical emergencies likely to increase. Medical emergencies occur in ≈1 in 600 flights, or about 16 medical emergencies per 1 million passengers. The most common in-flight medical events are syncope or presyncope (37%); respiratory symptoms (12%); nausea or vomiting (10%); cardiac symptoms (8%); and seizures (6%).

Although in-flight medical emergencies occur, serious illness or death onboard a commercial aircraft is rare. Death was reported in ≈0.3% of medical emergencies, ≈2/3 were due to cardiac conditions. Most commercial airplanes that fly within the United States are required to carry ≥1 approved automated external defibrillator (AED) and an emergency medical kit.

Flight attendants are trained in basic first aid procedures (e.g., cardiopulmonary resuscitation [CPR], use of AEDs) but generally are not certified in emergency medical response. Many airlines use ground-based medical consultants to assist aircrew and volunteer passenger responders in managing medical cases. In nearly 50% of in-flight emergencies, physician volunteers have assisted (see the following chapter in this section, . . . perspectives : Responding to Medical Emergencies when Flying ). The Aviation Medical Assistance Act, passed in 1998, provides some protection from liability to health care providers who respond to in-flight medical emergencies.

The goal of managing in-flight medical emergencies is to stabilize the passenger until the flight can safely reach ground-based medical care. When considering diversion to a closer airport, the captain must consider the needs of the ill passenger as well as other safety concerns (e.g., landing conditions, terrain, weather). Certain routes (e.g., transoceanic flights) and availability of definitive medical care might limit diversion options.

To better prepare aircrew for international travel, refer to Sec. 9, Ch. 2, Advice for Aircrew . The CDC Travelers’ Health website provides current information and travel health notices. Sec. 8, Ch. 8, Airplanes & Cruise Ships: Illness & Death Reporting & Public Health Interventions , provides advice for aircrew who might encounter passengers with potentially infectious diseases. The CDC Quarantine and Isolation webpage, Airline Guidance provides requirements and tools for aircrew dealing with in-flight illness or death among passengers.

The following authors contributed to the previous version of this chapter: Paul J. Edelson, Phyllis E. Kozarsky, Clive Brown

Bibliography

Aerospace Medical Association. Medical considerations for airline travel. Available from:  www.asma.org/publications/medical-publications-for-airline-travel/medical-considerations-for-airline-travel .

Bagshaw M, Illig P. The aircraft cabin environment. In: Keystone JS, Kozarsky PE, Connor BA, Northdurft HD, Mendelson M, Leder K, editors. Travel Medicine, 4th edition. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2019. pp. 429–36. 

Huizer YL, Swaanm CM, Leitmeyer KC, Timen A.Usefulness and applicability of infectious disease control measures in air travel: a review. Travel Med Infect Dis. 2015;13(1):19–30.  International Air Transport Association (IATA). Annual review 2021. Boston: The Association; 2021. Available from:  www.iata.org/contentassets/c81222d96c9a4e0bb4ff6ced0126f0bb/iata-annual-review-2021.pdf . 

International Civil Aviation Organization, Council on Aviation Recovery Taskforce. Aircraft module–air systems operations. Available from:  www.icao.int/covid/cart/Pages/Aircraft-Module---Air-System-Operations.aspx . 

International Civil Aviation Organization, Council on Aviation Recovery Taskforce. Guidance for air travel through the COVID-19 public health crisis. Available from:  www.icao.int/covid/cart/Pages/CART-Take-off.aspx . 

Nable JV, Tupe CL, Gehle BD, Brady WJ. In-flight medical emergencies during commercial travel. N Engl J Med. 2015;375(10):939–45. 

Peterson DC, Martin-Gill C, Guyette FX, Tobias AZ, McCarthy CE, Harrington ST, et al. Outcomes of medical emergencies on commercial airline flights. N Engl J Med. 2013;368(22):2075–83. 

Rosca EC, Heneghan C, Spencer EA, Brassy J, Plüddemann A, Onakpoya IJ, et al. Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 associated with aircraft travel: a systematic review. J Travel Med. 2021;28(7):taab133. 

US Department of Transportation, US Department of Homeland Security, US Department of Health and Human Services. Runway to recovery: the United States framework for airlines and airports to mitigate the public health risks of coronavirus, version 1.1. Washington, DC: The Departments; 2020. Available from:  www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2020-12/Runway_to_Recovery_1.1_DEC2020_Final.pdf .

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Nasa spacecraft en route to pluto prepares for jupiter encounter.

Tricia Talbert

WASHINGTON – NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is on the doorstep of the solar system’s largest planet. The spacecraft will study and swing past Jupiter, increasing speed on its voyage toward Pluto, the Kuiper Belt and beyond. The fastest spacecraft ever launched, New Horizons will make its closest pass to Jupiter on Feb. 28, 2007. Jupiter’s gravity will accelerate New Horizons away from the sun by an additional 9,000 miles per hour, pushing it past 52,000 mph and hurling it toward a pass through the Pluto system in July 2015. “Our highest priority is to get the spacecraft safely through the gravity assist and on its way to Pluto,” says New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern, of the Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colo. “We also have an incredible opportunity to conduct a real-world encounter stress test to wring out our procedures and techniques, and to collect some valuable science data.” The New Horizons mission team will use the flyby to put the probe’s systems and seven science instruments through the paces of more than 700 observations of Jupiter and its four largest moons. The planned observations from January through June include scans of Jupiter’s turbulent, stormy atmosphere; a detailed survey of its ring system; and a detailed study of Jupiter’s moons. The spacecraft also will take the first-ever trip down the long “tail” of Jupiter’s magnetosphere, a wide stream of charged particles that extends tens of millions of miles beyond the planet, and the first close-up look at the “Little Red Spot,” a nascent storm south of Jupiter’s famous Great Red Spot. Much of the data from the Jupiter flyby will not be sent back to Earth until after the spacecraft’s closest approach to the planet. New Horizons’ main priority during the Jupiter close approach phase is to observe the planet and store data on its recorders before orienting its main antenna to transmit information home beginning in early March. “Since launch, New Horizons will reach Jupiter faster than any of NASA’s previous spacecraft and begin a year of extraordinary planetary science to complement future exploration activities,” says Jim Green acting director, Planetary Science Division, NASA headquarters, Washington. New Horizons has undergone a full range of system and instrument checkouts, instrument calibrations, flight software enhancements, and three propulsive maneuvers to adjust its trajectory. After an eight-year cruise from Jupiter across the expanse of the outer solar system, New Horizons will conduct a five-month-long study of Pluto and its three moons in 2015. Scientific research will include studying the global geology, mapping surface compositions and temperatures, and examining Pluto’s atmospheric composition and structure. A potential extended mission would conduct similar studies of one or more smaller worlds in the Kuiper Belt, the region of ancient, rocky, icy planetary building blocks far beyond Neptune’s orbit. New Horizons is the first mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program of medium-class spacecraft exploration projects. The Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md., manages the mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The mission team also includes NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.; NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.; the U.S. Department of Energy, Washington; Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colo.; and several corporations and university partners. For more information on New Horizons on the Internet, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/newhorizons

http://pluto.jhuapl.edu

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Dwayne Brown/Tabatha Thompson Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1726/3895

Michael Buckley Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md. 240-228-7536