On July 14, 2015, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft completed a historic encounter with the distant Pluto, making a close pass at a mere 7,750 miles (12,472 km) above its surface.
New Horizons is the first and only spacecraft to approach Pluto, exploring this relic from the solar system’s formation. It covered a greater distance and duration (over nine years) than any previous deep space probe, upon reaching Pluto.