Dr. Alan Stern says he was a slacker long before the term was invented. He barely made the grade in high school and failed out of college his freshman year.

Today, he's a rocket scientist with two master's degrees and a doctorate.

Anything is possible if you put your mind to it, the Boulder, Colo.-based scientist told a dozen Norwin High School students last week during a Web conference in which he described his current $650 million project, sending the first NASA-sponsored spacecraft to explore Pluto and its moon, Charon.

The piano-sized probe, dubbed New Horizons, was launched Jan. 19 from Cape Canaveral, Fla. Propelled by a 210-foot rocket, New Horizons reached supersonic speed in less than 30 seconds and is the fastest spacecraft ever launched, Dr. Stern said.

Even so, New Horizons will cruise through space for nearly a decade before reaching Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, a far-flung field of icy space objects.

"It's really just a gargantuan place," Dr. Stern said of the universe across which the spacecraft must travel.

Norwin High School senior Jessica Hayward, who said she may pursue a minor in astronomy while attending Penn State University, asked if the NASA team had calculated the odds that New Horizons will be destroyed before completing its mission.

Despite a 3-billion-mile flight plan, the spacecraft is unlikely to be smashed by meteors or other space debris, Dr. Stern answered. The solar system is largely empty.

"That's why they call it 'space,' " he joked.

Dr. Stern explained that this mission will likely challenge the notion that nine primary planets exist in our solar system. Scientists have long debated Pluto's "planet" status given its small size and unexplored geology. In fact, he added, hundreds of planet-like objects larger than Pluto and with similar characteristics are expected to be discovered.

"It's really a revolution in the study of our solar system."

Matthew Anticole, the physics teacher who organized the Web conference, said the session was about more than a probe speeding into outer space. Students were able to meet and relate to an accomplished scientist and possibly consider a similar career path.

Dr. Stern said his work is as much about inspiring young people to explore space as it is about laying claim to scientific discoveries.

"It's a great way to make a living," he said.