Everything you need to know about NASA's epic mission to Pluto

In January 2006, NASA launched the fastest spacecraft in history toward the dwarf planet Pluto. Now the spacecraft — called New Horizons — is hastening toward its destination and is scheduled to make its closest approach to Pluto on July 14. 

On that epic day, New Horizons will use its slew of instruments on board to capture images of the distant icy world in unprecedented detail — hundreds of times clearer and thousands of times closer than the Hubble Space Telescope could ever hope to achieve.

Scientists on the New Horizons team have been patiently waiting for this moment for nearly a decade, and now their time is fast approaching. Here are 10 infographics by NASA that will teach you everything scientists know so far about icy Pluto.

Here's a basic introduction to the dwarf planet and the spacecraft that will uncover its secrets.

We mentioned that New Horizons was fast. Well, here's just how fast:

This shows what will happen in the days leading up to and following New Horizon's flyby of this frigid world:

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