The scientists who conquered Pluto

The global response to New Horizons is more than a celebration of one mission; it's the celebration of science

A rendering of New Horizons
(Image credit: NASA/APL/SwRI)

On the night of July 14, a small crowd gathered outside the Kossiakoff Center at the Applied Physics Laboratory campus in Laurel, Maryland. Halogen street lights cut across the darkness, outlining boom microphone operators and cameramen who looked like soldiers about to go into combat. Reporters scribbled in notepads, and a few of the faithful who absolutely couldn't wait any longer stood with mobile phones raised like Eucharistic offerings, ready to begin their furious Instagramming.

Inside the K-Center, hundreds of people lined a path to the main auditorium. They were anxious, giddy, twittering like birds and saying things that everyone already knew, but needing to say something. Most carried small American flags that had been distributed earlier in the day. Some had had a few festive drinks. It had been that kind of night.

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David W. Brown

David W. Brown is coauthor of Deep State (John Wiley & Sons, 2013) and The Command (Wiley, 2012). He is a regular contributor to TheWeek.com, Vox, The Atlantic, and mental_floss. He can be found online here.