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Mass

Just how heavy is 500 kilograms?

Heavyweights

500 kg

Scale
500 kilograms

The quantity is exact as entered.

500 kgMass in kilograms
0 kg
New Horizons spacecraft

New Horizons is a NASA spacecraft launched to study Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, carrying scientific instruments and powered by a radioisotope generator.

478 kgLaunch mass in kilograms
0 kg

Bar length measures mass, not physical size. Both bars start at zero kilograms (kg). Pictures identify the objects only.

A little perspective

500 kilograms is about 1.05 times the launch mass of the New Horizons spacecraft.

Measurements, assumptions & sources +

500 kilograms

Mass: 500 kg; definition.

The quantity is exact as entered. Comparisons use the clearly stated specimen, model or nominal measurement.

NIST — SI conversion factors

New Horizons spacecraft

Launch mass: 478 kg; approximate.

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft body is approximately 2.2 m high and had a launch mass of 478 kg. The radioisotope-generator and antenna projections extend beyond the calibrated body-height span.

Johns Hopkins APL — New Horizons spacecraft

The marked launch mass is calibrated. Unmeasured illustration details are representative.

Measurement details

Why these numbers?

Compare 500 kilograms with the launch mass of the New Horizons spacecraft. The notes below explain how each value was chosen.

500 kilograms

500 kg

Mass · definition

The quantity is exact as entered. Comparisons use the clearly stated specimen, model or nominal measurement.

New Horizons spacecraft

478 kg

Launch mass · approximate

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft body is approximately 2.2 m high and had a launch mass of 478 kg. The radioisotope-generator and antenna projections extend beyond the calibrated body-height span.

Comparing
Mass ↔ Launch mass
Relative size
500 kilograms is about 1.05 times the launch mass of the New Horizons spacecraft. 500 kilograms is approximately 4.6% greater than the launch mass of the New Horizons spacecraft.

How to read the visual

The diagram uses the recorded measurements. Details outside the marked spans do not set the scale.

  • The launch mass of the New Horizons spacecraft: This is an estimate; check the notes for its rounding and uncertainty.

Mass is distinct from weight: an object’s mass stays the same as gravity changes.

1,102.3 lbpounds
0.5 ttonnes

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