Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft has made a first visit to Pluto, speeding past at 14km per second.

Earlier, the space agency released the most detailed picture yet as it hurtled towards the dwarf planet on Tuesday.

The probe was set to grab more pictures and other science data on the object, as it passed 12,500km from the surface.

Controllers got a last health status report, before the robotic craft turned its antenna away from the Earth to concentrate on its target.