Alan Stern鈥檚 鈥渙ther vehicle鈥 鈥 the New Horizons spacecraft 鈥 is now way past Pluto, but the sports car he drove down here on Earth for the past 10 years is being auctioned for the benefit of the Lowell Observatory.
Stern, who led the NASA mission to Pluto, donated his cherry-red 2006 Nissan 350Z, complete with a bumper sticker that reads 鈥淢y other vehicle is on its way to Pluto,鈥 to raise money for Lowell鈥檚 astronomical research.
The Flagstaff observatory, with its historic telescopes atop Mars Hill, has remained a private foundation since its establishment in 1894 by Percival Lowell, who wanted to search for signs of life on Mars.
It was Pluto that brought the site its biggest notice. Self-taught astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered the planet from Mars Hill in 1930.
Stern, who conceived the NASA mission to the planet, has become one of the observatory鈥檚 biggest boosters. He named Pluto鈥檚 heart-shaped icy plain, Tombaugh Regio, in honor of Pluto鈥檚 discoverer.
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Stern鈥檚 advocacy and the mission that turned Pluto from a 鈥渄ot鈥 in the sky into a 鈥渞eal world鈥 reinvigorated interest in the observatory, said Lowell historian Kevin Schindler.
The historic observatory, where visitors can see the telescopes and domes used by Tombaugh to find Pluto and by Lowell to observe Mars, attracted a record 97,000 visitors in 2015 when New Horizons visited Pluto, Schindler said.
Interest hasn鈥檛 waned, and he expects the number to top 100,000 this year.
A link to the eBay auction of Stern鈥檚 car is at until Christmas Eve at 11:59 p.m.
Schindler said Stern鈥檚 auto is 鈥渘ot quite as fast鈥 as his spacecraft, 鈥渂ut it gets much better gas mileage.鈥
The Nissan鈥檚 top speed is in the 155-mph range. New Horizons left Earth at more than 36,000 mph, setting a NASA record.
The spacecraft, now on its way to two other targets in the Kuiper Belt, has traveled more than 3.5 billion miles. The odometer on the 350Z has a paltry 77,000 miles.
