Nasa craft to probe Pluto after 9-year sleep

An artist's rendition of New Horizons approaching Pluto

A US probe has come out of a nine-year hibernation and will soon begin exploring Pluto near the outer reaches of our solar system.

The probe, New Horizons, was launched in January 2006 but spent two-thirds of its journey asleep to preserve its electric power.

But scientists at Johns Hopkins University have now woken it up.

Soon New Horizons will be busy collecting data on Pluto's topography and its largest moon Charon, giving astronomers an up-close look at the dim surfaces that are difficult to see from Earth.