New Horizons
Goodnight, New Horizons. Sleep Well. Pixabay IN BRIEF The New Horizon's space probe is being put into a 5-month-long hibernation to reduce wear and tear while allowing for the allocation of resources to other missions. During this time, the probe will be prepared for the next leg of its extended mission. DO SPACE PROBES DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? NASA’s Pluto probe, New Horizons , has been hard at work for the past 852 days and has earned its epic five-month-long nap that just began on Monday, April 10. Imagine working for almost two-and-a-half years straight — you’d welcome a bit of hibernation yourself. Click to View Full Infographic The period of rest is meant to reduce wear and tear and allow for the allocation of resources, such as funds and personnel, to other NASA missions. According to New Horizons mission operations manager Alice Bowman in a news release , “We’re looking forward [to] taking advantage of the reduced missi...