Space News
space history and artifacts articles

Messages
space history discussion forums

Sightings
worldwide astronaut appearances

Resources
selected space history documents

  collectSPACE: Messages
  Stamps & Covers
  New Horizons' Pluto "Not Yet Explored" stamp

Post New Topic  Post A Reply
profile | register | preferences | faq | search

next newest topic | next oldest topic
Author Topic:   New Horizons' Pluto "Not Yet Explored" stamp
Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42985
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 07-07-2015 04:26 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
collectSPACE
'Not Yet Explored' no more: New Horizons flying Pluto stamp to dwarf planet

They are three words that soon will never be used to describe the dwarf planet Pluto again, and they are about to witness their own expiration.

"Not yet explored."

The phrase, which first appeared in 1991 along the bottom of a 29-cent U.S. postage stamp depicting Pluto, is now affixed – in the form of one those 24-year-old stamps – on NASA's New Horizons robotic probe, which as of Tuesday (July 7) is just one week out from flying by the mysterious dwarf planet.

The encounter will make space history — completing the initial reconnaissance of our classical solar system — and by the nature of the stamp being onboard, will make some postal history too. Not only is it thought to be the first time that a U.S. postage stamp has been present for the event that effectively made its design outdated, but it is also the farthest that any stamp has ever traveled before.

onesmallstep
Member

Posts: 1310
From: Staten Island, New York USA
Registered: Nov 2007

posted 07-07-2015 08:18 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for onesmallstep   Click Here to Email onesmallstep     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
If the probe is ever recovered by some future expedition, where would it go on display: the Air and Space Museum — or the National Postal Museum?

mikepf
Member

Posts: 441
From: San Jose, California, USA
Registered: Mar 2002

posted 07-07-2015 10:26 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for mikepf   Click Here to Email mikepf     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Amazing! Postage to Pluto is only 29 cents! I guess it would probably be a little bit more for the overnight rate.

Cozmosis22
Member

Posts: 968
From: Texas * Earth
Registered: Apr 2011

posted 07-07-2015 11:35 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Cozmosis22     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
This stamp was part of a less-than-impressive looking Space Exploration series issued about 15 years before poor little Pluto was kicked out of our planetary family.

cvrlvr99
Member

Posts: 139
From: Arlington, TX
Registered: Aug 2014

posted 07-09-2015 12:11 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for cvrlvr99   Click Here to Email cvrlvr99     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I've got a great cover for Pluto. Well it's really a cover for my torso. It reads: PLUTO
(then shows an image of a dwarf planet) 1930-2006 - REVOLVE IN PEACE.

I plan on wearing that t-shirt on Tuesday, July 14th.

Ronpur
Member

Posts: 1211
From: Brandon, Fl
Registered: May 2012

posted 07-14-2015 04:19 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ronpur   Click Here to Email Ronpur     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
When I tried to count the 9 mementos that went on New Horizons, I get 7, unless you count the 2 US Flags and two CDs as separate objects. Is this list correct?
  1. Florida State Quarter
  2. Maryland State Quarter
  3. CD of photos
  4. CD of names
  5. SpaceShipOne relic
  6. Ashes of Clyde Tombaugh
  7. US Flag
  8. US Flag
  9. Pluto "Not Yet Explored" stamp

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42985
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 07-14-2015 04:31 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yes, that's the list.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42985
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 07-19-2016 12:35 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
collectSPACE
Pluto stamp aboard NASA's New Horizons probe sets Guinness World Record

When NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew by the dwarf planet Pluto one year ago this month, the mission set a number of records. The probe was the first to encounter the small world at the edge of our classical solar system, sending back images that revealed Pluto's surface for the first time.

But beyond its own mission of exploration, New Horizons also served as the delivery vehicle for a 1.5-inch by 1-inch (3.8 by 2.5 cm) relic that set a record of its own.

"The official record for the farthest distance traveled by a postage stamp is 3.26 billion miles [5.25 billion km]," said Jimmy Coggins, an official adjudicator for Guinness World Records, at a ceremony held Tuesday morning (July 19) at the United States Postal Service's (USPS) headquarters in Washington, D.C.

onesmallstep
Member

Posts: 1310
From: Staten Island, New York USA
Registered: Nov 2007

posted 07-19-2016 02:48 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for onesmallstep   Click Here to Email onesmallstep     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I believe this bests the previous record for farthest travelled stamps, namely the ones affixed to postal covers that went to the moon on several Apollo flights, including the infamous 'Sieger' covers flown on Apollo 15.

All times are CT (US)

next newest topic | next oldest topic

Administrative Options: Close Topic | Archive/Move | Delete Topic
Post New Topic  Post A Reply
Hop to:

Contact Us | The Source for Space History & Artifacts

Copyright 2020 collectSPACE.com All rights reserved.


Ultimate Bulletin Board 5.47a





advertisement