A small stamp has made a giant leap for mankind, setting a new Guinness World Record for the farthest distance ever traveled by a postage stamp. A 1991 “Pluto Not Yet Explored” stamp, which was launched into space aboard NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, has achieved this historic milestone.
The 29-cent stamp, with its bold message “Pluto Not Yet Explored,” was affixed to the New Horizons spacecraft at Cape Canaveral, Florida, before its launch on January 19, 2006. The stamp then embarked on a journey of more than 3.2 billion miles (5.1 billion kilometers) to Pluto, a journey that culminated in the spacecraft’s historic flyby of the dwarf planet on July 14, 2015. This mission provided humanity with its first close-up images and scientific data of Pluto, unveiling details of this distant world for the first time.
At a ceremony on July 19, held at the U.S. Postal Service Headquarters in Washington, D.C., Jimmy Coggins, the official adjudicator for Guinness World Records, presented the New Horizons team with their world record certification. The event marked an exciting moment for the mission, as the stamp was celebrated not only for its contribution to space exploration but for its place in the record books.
“The New Horizons mission is about making the amazing official,” Coggins remarked during the presentation. The stamp, which became a symbol of the mission, continues to break its own world record as it travels further into the cosmos. As of the presentation, it had already traveled 274 million miles (441 million kilometers) beyond Pluto, further extending its place in history.
As New Horizons sped past Pluto, the “Pluto Not Yet Explored” stamp was officially canceled in July 2015, marking the end of its journey to Pluto. But the stamp’s adventure didn’t end there. The New Horizons spacecraft is continuing its journey, with NASA’s extended mission plans including a January 1, 2019, flyby of a Kuiper Belt object called 2014 MU69. This object, one billion miles beyond Pluto, is considered one of the solar system’s early building blocks, offering even more exciting scientific opportunities.
“The New Horizons mission to Pluto is not only making history but setting a high bar for future space exploration,” said Jim Green, NASA’s Director of Planetary Science. “Beyond the many scientific discoveries, it’s pushing the boundaries of what’s possible and continuing to inspire us all.”
With its groundbreaking discoveries and record-setting achievements, the New Horizons mission is firmly etched in the annals of space exploration. The “Pluto Not Yet Explored” stamp will continue its journey, embodying both the ambition and the extraordinary reach of humanity’s quest to explore the cosmos.
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