Article: Mission to Pluto: a spacecraft journeys toward the new dwarf planet.(Cover story)

Scientists kick Pluto out of the planet family, but that's not stopping a spacecraft from heading its way

Before You Read

Ask students: What do you know about our solar system? How many planets can you name? Why might Pluto no longer be classified as a planet?

Vocabulary

astronomer: a scientist who studies space

dwarf planet: a distinct class of space objects that includes Pluto, Ceres, and "Xena"

Kuiper belt: a wide band of icy and rocky objects on the outer edges of our solar system

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