My friend Raj Pillai, a chemical engineer and Pluto enthusiast, shared his enthusiasm last week about the U.S. Postal Service announcement of a Pluto stamp set.
Pluto — Explored! will consist of a four-stamp pane of Forever postage stamps depicting Pluto along with the New Horizons spacecraft. The stamps will be inaugurated during the World Stamp Show 2016 in New York in late May.
“U.S. postal stamps express the enthusiasm and personality of senders to favorite themes in our society,” says John Grunsfeld, NASA’s associate administrator for science. “From Mercury to Neptune, Pluto and Star Trek, it’s exciting to see that planetary science and space exploration are being celebrated in these new 2016 stamps.”
On Facebook, the Society of Unapologetic Pluto Huggers, a public group of 1,120 members, looks out for Pluto wherever it can. The group is not pleased with another U.S. Postal Service announcement.
Another set, “Views of Our Planets,” which will also debut at the World Stamp Show 2016, will include the eight major planets recognized by the International Astronomical Union — but no Pluto.
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