Mission to Pluto: The First Visit to an Ice Dwarf and the Kuiper Belt

Far-Out Guide to the Solar System

by Mary Kay Carson

In July of 2015 a robotic spacecraft reached Pluto after a nine-and-half-year journey. New Horizons is the first spacecraft mission to Pluto and revealed its five moons as never before seen. Images from the mission show a reddish surface covered in ice-water mountains, moving glaciers, and hints of possible ice volcanoes and an underground ocean. Pluto is geologically alive and changing!       This addition to the Scientists in the Field series goes where no person or spacecraft has ever gone before. Follow along with the team of scientists as they build New Horizons, fly it across the solar system, and make new discoveries about a world three billion miles away.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Space, Middle Grade, Picture Books, Childrens

80 pages, Hardcover

First published January 10, 2017

About the author

Mary Kay Carson is an award-winning children’s nonfiction author. She has written more than thirty books for young people about wildlife, space, weather, nature, and history. Her recent non-fiction titles include Emi and the Rhino Scientist, about the Cincinnati Zoo's famous rhino mom; Exploring the Solar System, recipient of the 2009 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Children’s Literature Award; The Wright Brothers for Kids; Inside Tornadoes; and the Far-Out Guide to the Solar System series. The author also gives presentations at schools and libraries about space, animals, history, and writing.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally (and after a number of frustrating and annoying recent outer space themed personal reading experiences), Mary Kay Carson's Mission to Pluto: The First Visit to an Ice Dwarf and the Kuiper Belt is a non fiction astronomy book geared to children (older children above the age of eleven or so, as there is not only quite a bit of presented text but also by necessity of the subject matter, some subject-specific advanced vocabulary and jargon) which totally and utterly (in my humble opinion) gets it right, that successfully combines an interesting, informative, readable narrative with wonderful and expressive, informatively enlightening accompanying photographs (not to mention the amazing supplemental details, a detailed select bibliography, an index, as well as the necessary photo credits for those images not taken by photographer Tom Uhlman). And truly, Mission to Pluto: The First Visit to an Ice Dwarf and the Kuiper Belt is not just a solid and wonderful introduction to Pluto and to the Kuiper Belt, to the outer reaches of our solar system for older children. No indeed, it is also a perfect introduction for interested adult readers (especially if one desires a succinct but not too dragging, not too overly scientific analysis of the history of Pluto's discovery, of how it and to me still rather annoyingly was demoted from being the ninth planet of our solar system to now being considered but a dwarf planet, a planetoid, a so-called Ice Dwarf, of how the mission to Pluto came into being and to fruition etc.).

Highly highly recommended, and for and to me, Mission to Pluto: The Fist Visit to an Ice Dwarf and the Kuiper Belt is truly and indeed one of the best, one of the most informative and one of the most easily and readily understood basic astronomy-themed books on Pluto I have read to date, a glowingly perfect combination of Mary Kay Carson's informatively readable text and Tom Uhlman's visually stunning accompanying photographs (and with that I of course mean those images that have not come from NASA and Johns Hopkins University, which needless to say, have also proven to be visually and aesthetically awesome), and of course, for me personally, the detailed bibliographical information at the back of Mission to Pluto: The First Visit to an Ice Dwarf and the Kuiper Belt this absolutely is in every way the delicious but oh so very much necessary icing on an already most delicious cake (absolutely spectacular).

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want a nice summary of the New Horizons mission to Pluto and a summary of its findings so far, this is the book to read. It amazes me how such a small spacecraft can be aimed so accurately at an object so very far away and arrive on schedule, all systems intact. Carson describes how Pluto was first discovered by Clyde Tombaugh, how it was reclassified as a dwarf planet, and even how three other dwarf planets in the Kuiper belt region were discovered. And they all have moons orbiting them! Carson follows the team of scientists as they plan the mission, design the New Horizons craft and its instruments, and finally, nine years after its launch, receive and interpret the data being sent back. We finally get to see what Pluto looks like! Its geological activity begs for another mission, which I hope happens. I enjoyed reading about how the features on Pluto and its moons are being named--wish I'd known about the contest and submitted an entry. Some features on Charon are even being named after characters and things on "Doctor Who"! The illustrations in this book were particularly clear and explanatory. One of my favorites was on page 31, which shows how the Crab Nebula looks under different wavelengths of light. Similar pictures of Pluto and Charon were taken. The excitement of this mission oozed out of every page. Highly recommended for young and old alike.

[LauraW · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book. The text is readable and interesting. The people are presented in interesting ways. The information is solid. And the pictures and illustrations are fabulous. If I were still teaching, I would definitely include this in my personal classroom library. A magnificent book for older kids and interested adults.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carson, Mary Kay Mission to Pluto: The First Visit to an Ice Dwarf and the Kuiper Belt, with photographs by Tom Uhlman. 74 pgs. NON FICTION. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. $18.99. Content: G.

In July, 2015 a small spacecraft which left Earth 9 ½ years before finally arriving at it’s destination: Pluto! Its mission was to take pictures, scan the surface and send information back to earth, before continuing on to visit the Kuiper Belt in 2019.

From the discovery of the planet in 1930 to the building of the New Horizons spacecraft and its launch in 2006, and then the pictures sent in 2015 (which are still arriving - it’s a slow transmission from over 3 billion miles away) this is a fascinating read that gives a non scientist a great perspective on this amazing space story. Fully illustrated with captioned photographs, this “scientists in the field” book also contains a glossary, bibliography and credit for source material.

MS, HS - ADVISABLE Lisa Librarian
http://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2016/...

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

In July, 2015 a small spacecraft which left Earth 9 ½ years before finally arriving at it’s destination: Pluto! Its mission was to take pictures, scan the surface and send information back to earth, before continuing on to visit the Kuiper Belt in 2019.

From the discovery of the planet in 1930 to the building of the New Horizons spacecraft and its launch in 2006, and then the pictures sent in 2015 (which are still arriving - it’s a slow transmission from over 3 billion miles away) this is a fascinating read that gives a non scientist a great perspective on this amazing space story. Fully illustrated with captioned photographs, this “scientists in the field” book also contains a glossary, bibliography and credit for source material.

Crossposted to http://kissthebook.blogspot.com CHECK IT OUT!

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carson follows the whole story of the New Horizons mission from inception to its ongoing successes including the many steps and set-backs along the way. What comes through most clearly is the picture of scientists at work and what drives them to persevere on such a long-term project. Along the way I learned so much about the planet Pluto, re-classified as a dwarf planet in the midst of the project, its moons and the mysterious Kuiper Belt. Fascinating information, a lot that was completely new to me, is provided without losing a sense of excitement and discovery. Interviews with scientists and project members gives the book a feeling of being in the room with the team.

As always with this Scientists in the Field series, the illustrations and photographs are stellar. Excellent back matter includes an extensive glossary.

[Willow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Far more detailed and interesting than I expected!

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish I had been able to enjoy this book more. While the information contained in it was wonderful, the physical structure of the book made it very difficult to endure. But endure I did. Pluto was missed by the Voyagers I and II on their Grand Tours of the Planets. I was delighted that Pluto got it's own mission and this book did an excellent job illuminating the challenges faced by the scientists who spent a decade planning this mission prior to liftoff. And then had to wait almost another decade to find out if everything went properly. One detail off and the whole mission would be lost. It was a thrilling success!

But something is wrong when it takes one from November 23 to January 11 to read a book of less than 80 pages. I'll freely admit there were many days I did not even try because the challenges were so daunting. I do have poor eyesight and, for many books, need a magnifying glass. But I regularly read a couple of 300-400 page books within that same time frame. What was wrong? Most of the pages had black print on a medium sky blue background. That is less than optimal for print/background contrast. But doable. It did slow me down. But the killer was the facing pages that were black background with bright royal blue print. It looked cool. It looked Really Cool, I must say. But reading it was nearly impossible. My eyes strained quickly. I could read a short paragraph. Perhaps two on a really good day. But none on a bad day. It would take a week, sometimes more to read those two facing pages. Fortunately they were followed by several pages of the less arduous medium sky blue pages. But the publisher sacrificed readability for cool.

[Kathryn]

For my eight-year-old and me, this wasn't quite as engaging as the The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity in the same series -- which we totally loved. This was a DNF for us at this time. But, still well worth a look for older kids (or adults) interested in space exploration. It is full of wonderful information, well presented, and we will probably revisit it when he's older.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Follows the voyage of the small spacecraft New Horizons as it travels from earth to the outer rims of Pluto (9 years!!). The text follows the main human players in the journey with lots and lots of fabulous science (astronomy, geology, math) to help the reader understand what it takes to get to Pluto.

[Mariah Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this with my Year 4 as part of his lessons and we both really enjoyed it!

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Follows the New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, gives background on Pluto's discovery and what scientists knew about it in the 80s and 90s, follows the scientists from their earliest ideas to go to Pluto, to the process of developing the mission and the spacecraft for this mission, to the plotting of the trajectory and how it is unfolding now (as of late 2016 when this was written).

I had no idea our photographs of Pluto before this mission were so horrible. It is amazing scientists could get any guesses at all from those. The new photos New Horizons is sending back to the way they developed the spacecraft to a realistic picture of how long a project like this takes were all fantastic. My only qualm with the book was that the infographic side panels often just repeated info presented in the text instead of sharing extra info. It felt a teensy bit too repetitive. Other than that, this is a fantastic look at the real life of an astronomer or any scientist working with a space program. It also provides some very recent discoveries about Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, and it helped me better understand the dwarf planet vs real planet thing that went on with Pluto.

[Emily Revelas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book details the mission to going to Pluto and taking photographs. It starts from the discovery to finally being able to take up close photographs, and everything in between!! This book is very educational and detailed that it could almost be used as a text book for a certain unit!

I gave this book 4 stars because it is so educational and my students who love space would dive into it. For my students who are sort of interested or not so much though, this book is too long and detailed for these students. I think this book is more a teacher read aloud for a science lesson or for students in 4th-5th grade and older to read alone, based on their lexile level.

I would use this book for my space unit to tell students about Pluto, and maybe help to explain why scientist are always wanting to knock Pluto in and out of the planet line up. I think for students to see the real pictures of the planets would be great! For a whole class read aloud though, I would hit the highlights because the book is so long, or break it up into a few days so the students would not be in information overload!!

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This addition to the Scientists in the Field series did not disappoint. It focuses upon the mission to explore Pluto, its moons & neighbors, and the Kuiper Belt. After a nine and half year trip the "small robotic spacecraft," New Horizons reached Pluto on July 14, 2015. The book details the scientists and researchers who made this mission possible and details the history of the journey beginning with the discovering of Pluto in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh. With the aide of amazing photography, the book also details the purpose of the research and outlines the remaining work that New Horizons will complete. Additionally, the book has a glossary, extensive index, and bibliography for further research. I highly recommend this title for purchase by both school and public libraries.It would be excellent for advanced readers in grades 3rd-6th while also being of interest to readers through 12th grade.

[Savanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

First ever mission to Pluto took place on the New Horizon. Throughout the book it led up to the mission to Pluto and what all went in to preparing for the mission.

This book allows you to take a step into the adventure and progress of the very first mission Pluto. The book presents science language throughout to show a detailed experience of the first mission to Pluto.

This book could be used in a science lesson on Space and Planets. In 4th grade the solar system is taught, so students could use this book gather information about the first mission to Pluto.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary Kay Carson recounts the exciting history of Pluto from its discovery and naming to all that led up to the 2015 New Horizons fly by. This "Scientists in the Field" book shows the scientists' work to get New Horizons to Pluto as well as challenges faced. There were also many women involved in this accomplishment (1/4 of the New Horizons team) and I hope that the photo of the scientists on the team will inspire girls to pursue studies and careers in science. Fascinating and informative book.

[Peter Z. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It would be easy to criticize Mission to Pluto for dwelling on stories and images of happy scientists having fun with their toys or inevitable anthropomorphism and repetitious references to times and distances. Putting the attempts at wow factor aside, this is an entertaining, engaging and informative book suitable for anybody with even a passing interest in science.

[Alana · Rating 5 out of 5]

great info, poor layout. i hate reading non-fiction books that have 'extra info pages' set in the middle of a sentence broken onto 2 pages. nothing worse than trying to read and the flow is interrupted. that aside, it had a lot of facts on the new horizons mission and findings.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

my son read this book and told me "it's a good book mom, I learned a lot".

It took him about a week to finish. It caused him to look different things up on youtube.

Good book. I found the bits I read fascinating. Great to walk with a scientist.

[Anne Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so well-written and interesting. My poor husband couldn't escape me as I followed him around telling him all the details I learned about Pluto and our solar system after reading this small book. As I finished up I was immediately eager to learn even more.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a longer nonfiction picture book with wonderful photographs. It was fascinating to read about the first mission to explore and study Pluto as well as some of the history of Pluto. Highly recommended to anyone interested in space/astronomy/Pluto.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding photos and information on the New Horizons voyage to Pluto, and all the exciting new things learned about this dwarf planet.

[Stasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like a 3.5... I enjoyed the pictures and specs of the spacecraft, though I have already seen dozens of them before in other books... But for some reason, this book annoyed me in the way it constantly had to scream at you HEY PLUTO ISN'T A PLANET ANYMORE. 😑 And the way the info was given seemed sort of dry. Maybe I've just read so much on it already that I know there are better things out there to read on the subject.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another in the excellent "Scientists in the Field" series for young readers - but they are equally informative for adults looking for a basic level of understanding on a current science topic - with pictures!

Fascinating and timely overview of the New Horizons spacecraft and it's journey to the "dwarf planet" Pluto. And while that original mission was launched in 2006 and made its flyby of Pluto nine years later in 2015, I say "timely" in that New Horizons just last month made its subsequent flyby of the first-ever visited Kuiper Belt object, "Ultima Thule."

First photos of "Ultima Thule" made it look like 2/3's of a snowman; but then just today NASA announced new information that shows it is in fact shaped more like two conjoined pancakes! If I could ever figure out how to attach photos to these damn reviews (apparently it's possible, but hell if I can figure it out), I'd include them here. But since I'm apparently a software simpleton, I'll just add a couple of links so you can see for yourself:

Jan 02 NASA article showing the original "snowman" photo: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/808...

Feb 20 NASA article with diagram of the new "pancake" shape: https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/02/20...

This is the kind of science that gets kids choosing to spend the rest of their lives chasing asteroids or sitting on the bottom of the ocean watching seahorses - great stuff, and I only wish more young people (as well as we old farts) were paying attention to it!

[Ashleigh McNamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently read the book Mission to Pluto by Mary Kay Carson. The books tells you all the things that New Horizons had to go through to get the mission to pluto allowed and the actual fly by. It also tells the story of Pluto’s moons and how they were named. It also gives you an understanding of all the careers involved in the mission. Understanding how hard the journey was makes the book that much better.
I thought the book was ok. Although it was really interesting, it got a little bland at some spots. The illustrations were also great along with the pictures. I felt this book was really informational, but not the kind of book I would read for entertainment. I could see all the hard work that was put into it though.
I would recommend this nonfiction book to all the kids and teens interested in space and Pluto. For the kids who have no interest at all it may be a long, bland read. I don't have an interest in space, but I don't dislike it. For kids like me, it will be a very informational read, and could learn a lot about Pluto. So, I recommend this book for all kids and teens that have some interest in space.

[Erica]

This informational book describes the almost decade long journey to Pluto and the Kuiper belt. The robotic spacecraft, New Horizons, took off in January 2006 and finally reached Pluto July 2015. Since this encounter with Pluto, scientists have been able to make countless discoveries far out in space.

I like this book for teachers to use during a space unit because it explains the characteristics of Pluto with the evidence the spacecraft has been able to collect. Since the encounter with Pluto, scientists have been able to identify that there are five moons near Pluto and take clearer picture of Pluto’s surface.

I could use this book to teach a science lesson about Pluto and what makes a planet a planet. It describes the characteristics of Pluto and why Pluto is not considered a planet anymore.

[Amanda Fuld]

Summary: This book follows the spacecraft, New Horizons, on its journey to Pluto. It is detailed and describes the preparation for the journey as well as Pluto and the Kuiper Belt through both text and pictures.

Evaluation: This book makes learning about Pluto interesting and unique by discussing different facts about it. It is very well written and uses scientific and educational language.

Teaching Point: This book would be beneficial for a unit on the solar system and/or space. It gives descriptive details of Pluto, and provides accurate and interesting pictures and facts for the audience.

[Clare Rossetter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at Pluto. Once a planet but now almost a footnote. It is the story of a long planned and well executed space mission to Pluto. Each page has actual photographs of the people involved in this process. This book is for upper elementary to older students. Good look at just how complicated space exploration can and the wealth of information that can be gained.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another totally awesome Scientists in the Field book. We learn about the team and the creation of the epic New Horizons spacecraft. And we see a lot of the initial data from Pluto. The pictures are amazing. Even though there is so much more learned since the printing of this book, I still thoroughly enjoyed it in May 2018.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. However, there were "Mission Brief" sections that interrupt the flow of text in the chapter. Lots of acronyms and names to keep up with, but information inserts help to keep them straight. Amazing information.