The US space agency (Nasa) successfully launched its New Horizons mission to Pluto on Thursday.
The US space agency (Nasa) successfully launched its New Horizons mission to Pluto on Thursday.
The probe lifted off at 1900 GMT aboard an Atlas 5 rocket on a 10-year journey to the planet, some five billion km (three billion miles) from Earth.
The $700m probe will gather information on Pluto and its moons before - it is hoped - pressing on to explore other objects in the outer Solar System.