New Horizons spacecraft spots possible ice cap on Pluto

NASA's Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft has spotted surface features on the icy world, including a possible polar cap.

Pluto is tipped onto its side so spacecraft has a steady gaze on one of its polar regions

Thomson Reuters Posted: Apr 30, 2015 8:32 AM EDT | Last Updated: April 30, 2015

'We are starting to see intriguing features, such as a bright region near Pluto's visible pole,' NASA science chief John Grunsfeld said in a statement. The bright spot can be seen in this image of Pluto with Charon taken earlier in April. (NASA)

NASA's Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft has spotted surface features on the icy world, including a possible polar cap.

With 97 million kilometres (60 million miles) left to go before its July 14, 2015, encounter, New Horizons already has been able to make out surprising light and dark patches on the surface of Pluto, which is currently more than 32 times farther away from Earth than the sun, NASA revealed Wednesday.

Our best pics of #Pluto yet - and as @NASANewHorizons gets closer, the images only get better! http://t.co/Rp2FHU7E2y pic.twitter.com/OwEzlaqyeV
—@NASANewHorizons

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"We are starting to see intriguing features, such as a bright region near Pluto's visible pole," NASA science chief JohnGrunsfeldsaid in a statement, in reference to what scientists believe could be a polar ice cap.

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, seen in an artist's impression, is the size of a piano and only requires the power needed for two 100-watt light bulbs to conduct its Pluto mission. (NASA/Reuters)

In the images, Pluto appears as a small, highlypixelatedblob, but already scientists can see there is something very odd about its surface.

"It's rare to see any planet in the solar system, at this low resolution, displaying such strong surface markings. If you had similar images of Mercury, or images of even Mars, you would not see the same kinds of big surface units going by as you do here on Pluto. That's very promising," New Horizons lead scientist Alan Stern, with the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo., told reporters during a conference call.

Because Pluto is tipped onto its side, similar to Uranus, New Horizons has a steady gaze on one of its polar regions, which appears in the images to be consistently brighter than other areas. Scientists suspect the pole is covered by a highly reflective cap of nitrogen ice.

New Horizons has been traveling toward Pluto for 9.5 years. In the interim, Pluto, which was once considered the ninth and outermost planet in the solar system, was demoted to "dwarf planet" status after scientists discovered other similar icy bodies in solar system's back yard.

As scientists prepare for their first close-up views of Pluto, another mission at the innermost planet is coming to an end.

Out of fuel after four years in orbit, NASA's Messenger spacecraft is expected to make a crash landing into Mercurytoday.