14 DAY TRIAL // On Wednesday, July 11, astronomers operating the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reported the discovery of a new moon around Pluto, the dwarf planet's fifth known natural satellite. The discovery highlights the potential perils facing the New Horizons spacecraft.
Launched back in 2006, the vehicle – the fastest space exploration robot ever built – is scheduled to reach Pluto in early 2015. When it launched, the distant world had three moons; when it will arrive, it will have five.
The new object was discovered less than a year after Hubble captured the first glimpses of P4, the dwarf planet's fourth moon. What these two discoveries hint at is that several other moons may orbit Pluto which, in turn, raises New Horizons' chances of colliding with one of them.
Therefore, as the spacecraft approaches Pluto, it needs to watch its steps and scout ahead. At this distance, radio commands take a long time to reach Earth, and then travel back to the edge of the solar system, Space reports.