The dwarf planet Pluto may be at the edge of our solar system, but an effort on Earth is seeking to put the icy world in mailboxes across the country — in stamp form.
An online petition backed by scientists with NASA’s New Horizons mission is pushing for a new U.S. postage stamp for Pluto and is hoping to hit 100,000 signatures by March 13, which is the 82nd anniversary of Pluto’s discovery. So far, the effort has gained the support of almost 6,000 Pluto fans since the petition launched Feb. 1. The petition, hosted at Change.org, will be submitted to the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee of the U.S. Postal Service.
The first Pluto stamp was issued in 1991. It consisted of an artist’s depiction of Pluto emblazoned with the phrase: “Not Yet Explored.”
NASA’s New Horizons mission, launched in 2006, aims to change that. The unmanned probe is flying NASA’s first expedition to Pluto and is due to fly by the distant world and its four moons in July 2015. The $700 million spacecraft will take the first close-up photos of Pluto, its largest moon Charon and three other satellites when it flies within 10,000 kilometers of the dwarf planet.