Proposed US Stamp Featuring Planet Pluto (2015)

More on the Pluto "Not Yet Explored" stamp being sent to Pluto! It's a shame the USPS didn't commemorate it again in 2015. I guess the stamp gurus at the USPS figured it wouldn't sell very well:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...on-to-pluto/

You never know... If NASA gets stunning images next week (I think they will too) I can still see it happening. How could they lose? The fact that there is already a stamp on the probe is built in advertising!

The USPS will wait until the mission is a definite success before they issue a stamp. If they issued one today and the probe went dark tomorrow, the stamp would probably be the worst seller, ever, and the USPS would look stupid for honoring a failure. Assuming the mission is successful, I'd bet money the USPS will issue something, and it probably won't take that long.

The New Horizons visit to Pluto is going to be pretty big news next week, or at least it should be. Pluto has never been imaged as more than a few pixels through powerful telescopes, and it's the first time in nearly 26 years that a probe has visited a previously unexplored planet (leaving aside the planet/not planet argument for the time being). I've been eagerly anticipating it myself for some time now. Almost everyone is going to know about it and the USPS would be missing the boat big time if they don't issue something. Lord knows the Sierra Leones and the Equatorial Guineas of the philatelic world will issue dozens of souvenir sheets amongst them; the USPS might as well join the party.

Hope you're right about it but one never knows when it comes to the usps.

I hope the probe sends back a photo of that billboard there which says:


"Welcome to "Fabulous Pluto - What happens on Pluto stays on Pluto"


Now THAT would be a great picture for a stamp commemorating the mission.

Here's the latest imagery. Interestingly, we won't see closer up pictures (i.e. "the good stuff") until late tonight or tomorrow, and actually continuing for the next 16 months. During the probe's closest approach, in order to focus on collecting as much data as possible, it's sending none of it. It won't start sending data again until tonight, at which point we'll see much higher resolution pictures of Pluto and its moons. It'll actually take 16 months to send it all as the transmitter is actually pretty low bandwidth.

Actually if you get the high-resolution version of the above image and zoom all the way in on the round feature at the middle left you can see both a Starbuck's and a Subway sandwich shop.

Yep, right across the street from the McDonald's golden arches.

I think I can make out a couple Walgreens as well.

Our son was 5, when we watched New Horizons launch together. For so many reasons, sharing this 'epically awesome' historical day with him, was indescribable. We were particularly tickled to see this moment, this morning, given our new found passion in philately. We are anxiously awaiting to see what there is to be seen, this evening.

GG -- what a nice memory with your son. I'm sure he'll be interested for the rest of his life.

That would be a great looking stamp. I hope they issue it.

Going back to TheArtfulHinger's photo: Just in front of the crater at the very south of Pluto you can just make out the Toronto Maple Leafs' farm team, The "Lala Plosers" having a skating practice.

Maybe the USPS will eventually issue a new Pluto stamp -- at least this brief news article sounds hopeful:

http://postalmag.com/blog/will-plut...stage-stamp/