We talk to Dr. Alan Stern, the leader of NASA’s mission to Pluto – New Horizons.

He’s been working on the mission for over 20 years and he’s excited to see the surprises that New Horizons will be sending back. Plus: We take the Brains On time machine for a test drive.

New Horizons launched on January 19, 2006 and is expected to fly by Pluto on July 14, 2015. Just 10 days before the fly-by date NASA lost communications with New Horizons — but they plan for things like this to happen. After about an hour and 20 minutes, they reestablished contact.

Brains On! is an award-winning audio show for kids and families from American Public Media.