New Horizons wakes up to begin Kuiper Belt exploration
The spacecraft will fly past a small rock nicknamed Ultima Thule on New Year’s Day
![Ultima Thule illustration](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/060418_LG_new-horizon_feat.jpg?fit=860%2C460&ssl=1)
NEXT STOP New Horizons’ next destination, Ultima Thule, might be a large rock orbited by a tiny moon, shown in this artist’s illustration. The spacecraft woke up June 4 to prepare to fly past Ultima Thule on January 1, 2019.
SwRI, JHU-APL, NASA