Astronomers, scientists and those who dream of space are all eagerly watching as a NASA spacecraft flies three billion miles from Earth near the edges of our solar system.

When New Horizons reaches its closest approach to Pluto, one Longhorn will have particular cause to celebrate the historic accomplishment: Alan Stern, the mission’s leader.

Stern, who holds bachelor’s degrees in physics and astronomy and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering and planetary atmospheres from UT, is the principal investigator on the New Horizons mission. After nearly 10 years in flight, New Horizons will spend five months studying Pluto and its moons. On Tuesday, July 14, shortly before 7 a.m. Texas time, the spacecraft was set to get as close as it will to Pluto, some 7,800 miles from the surface.

The New Horizons mission has already helped scientists determine Pluto is larger than many prior estimates and will ultimately help us understand worlds at the edge of our solar system. Equipped with high-tech cameras, the spacecraft lets astronomers see Pluto in never-before-seen detail.

[Alumnus Alan Stern, who Leads NASA’s New Horizons Mission, Discusses the Next Generation of Space Flight.]

But Stern’s mission is just one example of Longhorns dreaming of beyond infinity.

Our geologists help train astronauts for trips to the International Space Station. And when asked their occupation, 12 of our alumni reply “astronaut.”

Students can now even earn a master’s degree in space entrepreneurship. The program is part of the Masters of Science in Technology Commercialization and focuses on combining space exploration and business management.

This past April, Michael Watkins, who oversaw operations of the Curiosity rover that landed on Mars in 2012, announced his return to UT as the next director of the Center for Space Research in the Cockrell School of Engineering.

Watkins, who earned his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering from UT Austin, worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for 22 years and led various teams for many of NASA’s most high-profile missions.

This summer, officials announced UT scientists and a team of international partners are helping to build the Giant Magellan Telescope, which is poised to be the largest optical telescope in the world. Addressing some of the most important issues in astronomy today, the Giant Magellan Telescope will let astronomers look deeper into space and further back in time than ever before.

“It says something very deep about humans and our society, something very good about us, that we’ve invested our time and treasure in building a machine that can fly across three billion miles of space to explore the Pluto system.” –UT alumnus Alan Stern, who is leading NASA’s New Horizons mission, in an interview with the Smithsonian.

And while distinguished alumnus and Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey, B.S. ’93, boldly goes where no Longhorn has gone before, other students, faculty and alumni are also changing the world with space-related projects.

Here’s a look at some out-of-this-world ideas to come from the Forty Acres:

[Watch Neil deGrasse Tyson, M.A. ’83, testify before congress about the value of funding NASA, and check out four other great speeches from Longhorns.]

[Across the Forty Acres, students are conducting all sorts of research. Explore these 30 Seriously Impressive Undergrad Research Projects.]