- Senior NASA official Isaacman supports reinstating Pluto as a planet again
- Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet by the IAU in 2006 due to orbit criteria
- NASA plans to submit research papers to revisit Pluto’s planetary status debate
A long-running debate about Pluto's status has once again come into focus, with a senior space official renewing calls to recognise it as a planet, reported USA Today. For nearly two decades, debate has surrounded Pluto after it was stripped of its planethood in 2006 and reclassified as a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union.
Since then, many supporters have argued that the decision was unjustified and have called for a reconsideration.
Pluto was long considered the ninth and furthest planet in the solar system until the 2006 vote. While it meets some criteria, such as orbiting the Sun and being mostly round, it does not have enough gravitational force to clear its orbit of debris. Because of this, it was reclassified as a dwarf planet, according to the IAU.
Isaacman, who was confirmed as NASA's administrator in December 2025, recently reiterated his belief that Pluto deserves to regain its planetary status.
Speaking before a US Senate committee on April 28, he said that, "I am very much in the camp of 'make Pluto a planet again."
Watch Video Here:
In 1930, Clyde Tombaugh from Burdett, Kansas, discovered Pluto, & I appreciate @NASAAdmin's interest in reclassifying Pluto as a planet and restoring credit for the discovery of the planet to Clyde Tombaugh.⬇️ pic.twitter.com/cK2PW7Occ6
— Senator Jerry Moran (@JerryMoran) April 30, 2026
He also said that NASA is working on research papers that they would like to bring forward within the scientific community to revisit the discussion, reported USA Today.
The remarks came during a hearing on a proposed budget under Donald Trump, where Isaacman testified for over an hour before being asked about Pluto by Senator Jerry Moran.
Pluto was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory. Its existence had earlier been predicted by astronomer Percival Lowell, who theorised about a distant planet based on irregularities in Uranus' orbit but died before its discovery.
The debate over Pluto's status continues to reflect differing views within the scientific community, with fresh discussions now being encouraged.
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