December 18, 2025 12:38 am (IST)
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NASA names Pluto peaks after Tenzing Norgay
California, July 19 (IBNS): In a proud moment for India, NASA has informally named a region of icy mountains on Pluto after Tenzing Norgay, the Indian Sherpa who reached the summit of Mount Everest along with Edmund Hillary on May 29, 1953, reports said.
The icy peaks, which have been named Norgay Montes, are as high as 11,000 feet (3,500 meters) above the surface of the icy body.
Icy mountains on Pluto and a new, crisp view of its largest moon, Charon, are among the several discoveries announced Wednesday by NASA's New Horizons team, just one day after the spacecraft’s first ever Pluto flyby.
The mountains on Pluto likely formed no more than 100 million years ago -- mere youngsters in a 4.56-billion-year-old solar system. This suggests the close-up region, which covers about one percent of Pluto’s surface, may still be geologically active today.
“This is one of the youngest surfaces we’ve ever seen in the solar system,” said Jeff Moore of the New Horizons Geology, Geophysics and Imaging Team (GGI) at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California.
Tenzing's family members told media that they felt honoured by this recognition.
"NASA could have name the mountains after any American legend-its decision to use Tenzing Norgay's name was unexpected," Tenzing's son Jamling was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.
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