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PDS Information
Find a Node - Use these links to navigate to any of the 8 publicly accessible PDS Nodes.

This bar indicates that you are within the PDS enterprise which includes 6 science discipline nodes and 2 support nodes which are overseen by the Project Management Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Each node is led by an expert in the subject discipline, supported by an advisory group of other practitioners of that discipline, and subject to selection and approval under a regular NASA Research Announcement.



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Instrument Description
The New Horizons instrument named Ralph is a visible/near infrared multi-spectral imager and a short wavelength infrared spectral imager. MVIC and LEISA are incorporated in RALPH, which combines panchromatic and color imaging capabilities with SWIR imaging spectroscopy. RALPH is a compact, low-mass (10.5 kg) power efficient (7.1 W peak), and robust instrument with good sensitivity and excellent imaging characteristics. Other than a door opened once in flight, it has no moving parts making it ideally suited for long-duration flyby reconnaissance mission.

Measurement Objectives
  • Pluto objectives are to map the surface geology and composition of Pluto and moons and for atmospheric studies and to map the surface temperature.
  • At Jupiter a series of observations were carried out within the constraints of calibration and shake-down activities for the Pluto mission.

The RALPH/MVIC & LEISA data are housed at the PDS/SBN node

Useful Mission Documents
For more information on the New Horizons Mission see the following:
Mission Description
Spacecraft Description
Ralph Data Set Documentation

Also see Space Sci Rev (2008) 140: 129–154, DOI 10.1007/s11214-008-9375-7. Dennis Reuter, et al., Ralph: A Visible/Infrared Imager for the New Horizons Pluto/Kuiper Belt Mission.

Archive Collections

Jupiter Flyby

Raw Data - Directory containing the EDR data files
MVIC
Citation to use when referencing this data set: "Stern, A., NEW HORIZONS MVIC JUPITER ENCOUNTER V2.0, NH-J-MVIC-2-JUPITER-V2.0, NASA Planetary Data System, 2007.”

LEISA
Citation to use when referencing this data set: "Stern, A., NEW HORIZONS LEISA JUPITER ENCOUNTER V1.1, NH-J-LEISA-2-JUPITER-V1.1, NASA Planetary Data System, 2007.”

Calibrated Data - Directory containing the RDR data files
MVIC
Citation to use when referencing this data set: "Stern, A., NEW HORIZONS MVIC JUPITER ENCOUNTER V2.0, NH-J-MVIC-3-JUPITER-V2.0, NASA Planetary Data System, 2007."
MVIC As-flown Index – List of actual observations in order of acquisition

LEISA
Citation to use when referencing this data set: "Stern, A., NEW HORIZONS LEISA JUPITER ENCOUNTER V1.1, NH-J-LEISA-3-JUPITER-V1.1, NASA Planetary Data System, 2007.”
LEISA As-flown Index - List of actual observations in order of acquisition

Pluto Encounter

Raw Data - Directory containing the EDR data files
MVIC
Citation to use when referencing this data set: "Stern, A., NEW HORIZONS MVIC JUPITER ENCOUNTER V2.0, NH-J-MVIC-2-JUPITER-V2.0, NASA Planetary Data System, 2007.”

LEISA
Citation to use when referencing this data set: "Stern, A., NEW HORIZONS Raw LEISA PLUTO ENCOUNTER V3.0, NH-P-LEISA-2-PLUTO-V3.0, NASA Planetary Data System, 2018."

Calibrated Data - Directory containing the RDR data files
MVIC
Citation to use when referencing this data set: "Stern, A., NEW HORIZONS Calibrated MVIC PLUTO ENCOUNTER V3.0, NH-P-MVIC-3-PLUTO-V3.0, NASA Planetary Data System, 2018."
MVIC As-flown Index

LEISA
Citation to use when referencing this data set: "Stern, A., NEW HORIZONS Calibrated LEISA PLUTO ENCOUNTER V3.0, NH-P-LEISA-3-PLUTO-V3.0, NASA Planetary Data System, 2018."
LEISA As-flown Index - List of actual observations in order of acquisition

Derived Data
Surface Composition Maps
Citation to use when referencing this data set: "Stern, A., New Horizons Pluto Encounter Surface Composition Data Archive, NEW HORIZONS PLUTO LEISA/MVIC COMP V1.0, NH-P/PSA-LEISA/MVIC-5-COMP-V1.0, NASA Planetary Data System, 2018."

Geology and Geophysical Maps
Citation to use when referencing this data set: "Stern, A., NEW HORIZONS Derived GEOPHYSICAL PLUTO ENCOUNTER DATA V1.0, NH-P/PSA-LORRI/MVIC-5-GEOPHYS-V1.0, NASA Planetary Data System, 2018."

Flyby of Arrokoth (Asteroid 486958)

Raw Data
Calibrated Data

Alice
MVIC
LEISA
REX
LORRI
SWAP
PEPSSI
SDC


Publications - A listing of team members to facilitate literature searches.