← All storiesScienceDeveloping story

NASA's New Horizons Spacecraft Just Woke Up From a Long Nap Ahead of Exploring Beyond Pluto - CNET

Our gifting experts are obsessively searching for holiday gifts that are unique, thoughtful and suitable for any budget. Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. New Horizons takes frequent naps to conserve resources as it explores the outer solar system. New Horizons is the first spacecraft to explore Pluto up close, a feat it accomplished in 2015. It takes a long time to reach anything at the edge of our solar system, and sometimes even spacecraft need to take a nap on a long journey. NASA’s New Horizons did just that, and the agency says the spacecraft woke itself up on schedule after a 321-day sleep, the longest nap it’s ever taken. Flight controllers at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory put the spacecraft to sleep on Aug. 7, 2025, with the world’s longest sleep timer. New Horizons woke itself up using its onboard commands on June 23. NASA reports that the spacecraft survived its long sleep without any issues and is “healthy.” “Every status report through this hibernation period was ‘green,’ meaning all was well aboard New Horizons each and ever

3
updates in timeline
3
distinct sources
7 days
story span
Jul 16, 2026
latest update

Jul 9, 2026 → Jul 16, 2026

LATEST DEVELOPMENT
Jul 16, 2026·GizmodoT2 · Outlet report
11 Years After Historic Flyby, Scientists Discover Giant Landslides on Pluto

In July 2015, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft gave us our first look at Pluto’s surface in spectacular detail. The rare encounter revealed a distant world with giant ice sheets, mountains, valleys, and terrains unlike any other seen in the…

Read original at Gizmodo →
ACTIVITY · UPDATES PER MONTH
Jul 26

3 updates from 3 sources over 7 days.

Showing 3 of 3 updates

Timeline (3 updates)

July 2026

3 updates
Jul 16, 2026·GizmodoT2 · Outlet reportLATEST
11 Years After Historic Flyby, Scientists Discover Giant Landslides on Pluto

In July 2015, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft gave us our first look at Pluto’s surface in spectacular detail. The rare encounter revealed a distant world with giant ice sheets, mountains, valleys, and terrains unlike…

Read original at Gizmodo →
Jul 16, 2026·CNNT2 · Outlet reportKEY MOMENT
NASA spacecraft wakes up to continue groundbreaking mission beyond Pluto | CNN

A groundbreaking mission that explored Pluto and distant solar system objects in unprecedented detail has awakened from its longest sleep ever — and it’s 5.9 billion miles (9.5 billion kilometers) from Earth.…

Read original at CNN →
Jul 9, 2026·CNETT2 · Outlet reportOPENING
NASA's New Horizons Spacecraft Just Woke Up From a Long Nap Ahead of Exploring Beyond Pluto - CNET

Our gifting experts are obsessively searching for holiday gifts that are unique, thoughtful and suitable for any budget. Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests…

Read original at CNET →

Sources & evidence (3)

What this story stands on. Tier 0 is a primary record or the subject's own words; higher tiers must be attributed, never stated as bare fact.

T2 · Outlet report× 3
COVERAGE BY SOURCE
CNET 1CNN 1Gizmodo 1
STRONGEST EVIDENCE
T2 · Outlet reportGizmodoJul 16, 2026

In July 2015, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft gave us our first look at Pluto’s surface in spectacular detail. The rare encounter revealed a distant world with giant ice sheets, mountains, valleys, and terrains unlike any other seen in the…

View source →
T2 · Outlet reportCNNJul 16, 2026

A groundbreaking mission that explored Pluto and distant solar system objects in unprecedented detail has awakened from its longest sleep ever — and it’s 5.9 billion miles (9.5 billion kilometers) from Earth. NASA’s New Horizons…

View source →
T2 · Outlet reportCNETJul 9, 2026

Our gifting experts are obsessively searching for holiday gifts that are unique, thoughtful and suitable for any budget. Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If…

View source →

Tier key: T0 = Primary source · T1 = Wire · T2 = Outlet report · T3 = Commentary

Related stories

TechnologyT2 · Outlet report

US supreme court rejects Republican-drawn midterm map in Missouri for third time – as it happened

Long-running fight over Trump-backed maps takes another turn as absentee voting is already under way in Missouri. This blog is now closed. Sign up for US Breaking News emails Xi…

13 updates3 sources9 days long
Sep 26, 2026 → Oct 5, 2026
Latest: Trump Hits Campaign Trail as GOP Support Slips · Bloomberg
EntertainmentT2 · Outlet report

'Godzilla vs. Kong' actress Kaylee Hottle dead at 18

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2026 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least…

2 updates2 sources
Jul 21, 2026
Latest: Kaylee Hottle: Godzilla vs Kong actress dies in car crash at 18 · BBC
ScienceT2 · Outlet report

Elon Musk’s plans refer to an idea conceived in the 1960s. What is the Kardashev scale? | CNN

Elon Musk’s plans for the future of SpaceX, and humanity, are rooted in an idea conceived in the 1960s when astronomers began to pick up mysterious, unknown radio sources in the…

11 updates7 sources11 days long
Jul 10, 2026 → Jul 21, 2026
Latest: SpaceX stock slides for a week straight. What happens next? · Mashable
TechnologyT2 · Outlet report

Astronomers May Have Found the First Pair of Stars to Explode Together

Scientists believe nearly all massive stars destined to explode as supernovae exist in binary or multi-star systems. Despite this, no one had ever detected a binary pair of…

1 update1 source
Jul 21, 2026
Latest: Astronomers May Have Found the First Pair of Stars to Explode Together · Gizmodo
GeneralT2 · Outlet report

Save student loan plan ends, leaving millions of US borrowers 90 days to find a new one

Trump administration is requiring borrowers to choose new options after Biden-era plan ruled unconstitutional More than 7 million Americans will be forced to change their student…

9 updates5 sources3 weeks long
Jul 1, 2026 → Jul 20, 2026
Latest: Trump Jr.’s 1789 fund invests in companies that have scored billions in federal funding | CNN Politics · CNN
GeneralT2 · Outlet report

How an American blue crab took over Italian lagoons | CNN

As the sun was rising, two fisherwomen dragged their boat through the Scardovari lagoon in northeastern Italy. Oscarina Soncin stood in one of the largest clam-harvesting sites in…

1 update1 source
Jul 18, 2026
Latest: How an American blue crab took over Italian lagoons | CNN · CNN