Pluto's Heart: The Iconic New Horizons Image That Changed Our Solar System Ten years ago, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft captured this extraordinary, close-up view of the surface of Pluto. The images revealed a dynamic and complex world, far from the icy wasteland astronomers once imagined. The photo highlights Pluto's signature features: the massive, nitrogen-ice plains known as Sputnik Planitia (the "heart" of Pluto) and towering ranges of water-ice mountains. The mission, which took 9.5 years