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Today, Pluto is called a dwarf planet. A dwarf planet is round and orbits the sun just like the eight major planets. But unlike a planet, a dwarf planet does not have enough gravity to attract all of the space dust and tiny objects in its path.A dwarf planet also is much smaller than a planet, but it is not a moon.n 2006, NASA launched New Horizons, which is the first mission to Pluto. New Horizons is a spacecraft about the size of a piano that is flying to the outer edge of the solar system. The spacecraft will take nine years to reach Pluto. In 2015, New Horizons will spend more than five months studying Pluto and its moons.
Even though Pluto is a dwarf planet, and no longer officially a planet, it'll still be a fascinating target for study. And that's why NASA has sent their New Horizons spacecraft off to visit it. New Horizons will reach Pluto in July 2015, and it will capture the first closeup images of the (dwarf) planet's surface.ny object that doesn't meet this 3rd criterion is considered a dwarf planet. And that makes Pluto a dwarf planet. There are still many objects with similar size and mass to Pluto jostling around in its orbit.