Until about 10 years ago, astronomers considered Pluto an enigma. Unlike other planets that fit neatly into a simple architecture four small rocky bodies in the inner orbits and four gas stations in the outer orbits with an asteroid belt between them Pluto had peculiar orbit. Astronomers figured that Pluto is the brightest of a vast ensemble of objects orbiting in a distant region called the Kuiper Belt. For almost a decade now, American scientists have been pushing NASA to put Pluto on its exploratory agenda. The agency studied various proposals to send a mission to Pluto and in the late 90s, settled on a small craft carrying just a camera.