NASA’s space probe New Horizons has sent back its first images of Pluto and its moon Charon during the probe’s final approach towards the dwarf planet, which the agency released Wednesday.
![](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/nasa-pluto-charon.gif?w=2400&quality=75)
The publishing of the images coincides with the birth anniversary of Clyde Tombaugh, Pluto’s discoverer, who died in 1997.
“This is our birthday tribute to Professor Tombaugh and the Tombaugh family, in honor of his discovery and life achievements,” said New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern.
The spacecraft, which has traveled 3 billion miles across the solar system for over nine years, is currently scheduled to fly past Pluto and its moons on July 14. (It took the above grainy but exciting images from about 126 million miles away.)
“Pluto is finally becoming more than a pinpoint of light,” said the mission’s project scientist Hal Weaver.
See 25 Incredible Images of Earth From Space
![Alberta, Canada, Oct. 10, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-25.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Kiev, Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-17.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Itaipu Dam, Paraguay, March 12, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-24.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![San Diego County, Calif., May 15, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-02.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Maschen, Germany, Aug. 6, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-13.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Spui Locks at IJmuiden, Netherlands, Aug. 27, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-15.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Mount Sinabung, Indonesia, Jan. 23, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-04.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Everett, Washington, July 26, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-16.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Garden City, Georgia, May 16, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-03.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Kobani, Syria, Nov. 6, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-09.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![World’s largest tire graveyard in Sulaibiya, Kuwait, June 4, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-08.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Sinjar, Iraq, Sept. 15, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-11.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Huayuanli, China, Oct. 18, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-14.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Nordenskjold Basin, Antarctica, March 12, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-23.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany, Sept. 24, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-12.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Mexico City, Mexico, Aug. 1, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-07.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Glastonbury Festival, Pilton, Somerset, England, June 25, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-01.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Bayan Obo Mining District, China, Aug. 23, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-20.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![The Diavikk Diamond Mine, Canada, Aug. 21, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-21.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Cuprite Hill, Nevada, Sept. 19, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-06.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Rainbow Range, British Columbia, Canada, Sept. 20, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-22.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Henan Coal Mine, China, May 29, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-19.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Prirazlomnaya Oil Platform, Russia, June 28, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-05.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan, Sept., 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-10.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Gunja, Croatia, May 21, 2014.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-satellite-photos-from-space-18.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
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Write to Rishi Iyengar at rishi.iyengar@timeasia.com