Chasing New Horizons

Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto

By: Alan Stern, David Grinspoon

Narrated by: Alan Stern, David Grinspoon

Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

This audiobook is the up-close inside story of the greatest space exploration project of our time, New Horizons’ mission to Pluto, as shared with David Grinspoon by mission leader Alan Stern and other key players.

On July 14, 2015, something amazing happened. More than three billion miles from Earth, a small NASA spacecraft called New Horizons screamed past Pluto at more than 32,000 miles per hour, focusing its instruments on the long-mysterious icy worlds of the Pluto system, and then, just as quickly, continued on its journey out into the beyond. Nothing like this has occurred in a generation - a raw exploration of new worlds unparalleled since NASA’s Voyager missions to Uranus and Neptune - and nothing quite like it is planned to happen ever again.

The photos that New Horizons sent back to Earth graced the front pages of newspapers on all seven continents, and NASA’s website for the mission received more than two billion hits in the days surrounding the flyby. At a time when so many think that our most historic achievements are in the past, the most distant planetary exploration ever attempted not only succeeded in 2015 but made history and captured the world’s imagination. How did this happen?

Chasing New Horizons is the story of the men and women behind this amazing mission: of their decades-long commitment and persistence; of the political fights within and outside of NASA; of the sheer human ingenuity it took to design, build, and fly the mission; and of the plans for New Horizons’ next encounter, one billion miles past Pluto in 2019. Told from the insider’s perspective of mission leader Dr. Alan Stern and others on New Horizons, Chasing New Horizons is a riveting story of scientific discovery and of how much we humans can achieve when people focused on a dream work together toward their incredible goal.

©2018 Alan Stern and David Grinspooon (P)2018 Macmillan Audio

Pluto has a heart

This book showed the heart and determination of all of those involved. Proving even before it’s discovery that Pluto has a heart.

Better than fiction!

Man, I wish some of the fictions I've read in my life were so compelling and so beautifully rich as this real story was. As someone born in the early eighties, barely soon enough to see a lot of interesting stuff from the nineties, but late to see the marvels in planetary exploration from the sixties and seventies, I feel that the Pluto mission redeemed my generation of all the incredible things we've just heard about when growing up. Great work, great book.

Take this amazing story with a grain of salt

The story of the New Horizons spacecraft is an epic one, fraught with near misses and brushes with death all along its path. The exploration of Pluto is a moment I will remember until I die. While the story is a must hear, be wary that this perspective is from its champion, Alan Stern, who necessarily tells it in perhaps a more dramatic and self-serving way than may be true. Nonetheless, authors' biases aside, this is a great story and I would recommend it to anyone.

The New Horizons team made it look easy...

This book kept me listening for the better of two days until the end. Great story of how, against all odds, the New Horizons Pluto mission was conceived and launched. Part two of the ongoing mission starts in 2019!

Very inspirational

Great story for anyone interested in space or just looking for a fascinatingunderdog story! I loved it!

Loved It

Everything was really good. Loved that the authors read it. I just wish Alan
would have read his dialogue. Other than that, it was wonderful.

great book highly recommend!!!!

such a good book. I know Alan personally and this is a great way to get a InSight to what he had to gi through to make new horizons a reality!

Unbelievable epic exploration expedition

Really inspiring story about the relentless and determined Pluto enthusiastic scientists to start the epic journey to explore Pluto. also, glimpses of the sometimes tormenting, extremely cautious planning and execution of a day of scientific exploration flyby as the culmination of a 25 year dream

Outstanding. Worth rapt attention.

Thoroughly enjoyed this inspiring history of how humans reached new horizons. Excitedly anticipating published results of all the studies!

An Important Litany of Modern Exploration Science

The miracle of New Horizons is well documented from the perspective of the lead science-administrator. This should be mandatory reading for aspiring scientists and engineers to provide basic grounding in industrial science. While some of the travails are painful listening, the dedication of the New Horizons team and ultimate payoff make this a worthy book. Non-scientists (especially elected and appointed government representatives) should also read this to fully appreciate where and how their tax dollars are being spent.