New Horizons is man-made and sent to Jupiter.
New Horizons is an interplanetary space probe that was launched as a part of NASA 's New Frontiers program . After a brief encounter with asteroid 132524 APL , New Horizons proceeded to Jupiter , making its closest approach on February 28 , 2007 , at a distance of 2.3 e6km . The Jupiter flyby provided a gravity assist that increased New Horizons speed ; the flyby also enabled a general test of New Horizons scientific capabilities , returning data about the planet 's atmosphere , moons , and magnetosphere . Most of the post-Jupiter voyage was spent in hibernation mode to preserve on-board systems , except for brief annual checkouts . A space probe is a robotic spacecraft that does not orbit the Earth , but , instead , explores further into outer space .