Funding Approved for Pluto/Kuiper Probe

azpenguin writes "While we discuss the acheivements of the now-silent Pioneer 10, Congress has apporved funding for the "New Horizons" mission to send a probe to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. Space.com has the story here. NASA had actually fought the idea, but Congress approved the money anyway. Wonder if in 12 years (when the probe is supposed to reach Pluto) the public will be as fascinated with the pictures coming back as much as with the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft." In related news, dalewj writes "Seems the team at JPL will discontinue operations on the Galileo Space probe to Jupiter after extended the mission three times. Galileo has been in space since 1989 and has some amazing findings and pictures available on the JPL website. Truly NASA and JPL's best effort to date."

Comments

Did I Read That Right

[jade42]

Did Congress have to force money on NASA? It must be the last sign. I'm going to the bomb shelter.

Re:This is good news

[Anonymous Coward]

Can someone explain this?

Basically, Congress is giving an inaugural award for outstanding achievement in the field of excellence

Plans for a new Star Trek are already underway...

[MrFreshly]

Featuring a long lost outer solar system probe calling itself "Ne zon"...Due to budget cut backs arising from failing public interests, this film will be funded by automobile company "Nissan" in exchange for exclusive rights of the Star Trek logo which will replace the Nissan logos on all 2005+ vehicles.

well...It couldn't be any worse than Star Trek V.

Nasa's revenge

[garbs]

Nasa's revenge for getting funding forced for the mission.

They'll crash the probe into the planet before getting pictures.

Hmmm, maybe there is some sorta secret Nasa installation on Pluto, maybe that's why Nasa doesn't want the funding for the mission.

Glowing in the dark

[Anonymous Coward]

So that's why all the little green man are green!

Oh the horror: nuclear atoms in space! Probably those nasty hadron-based ones to boot! The entire space can be polluted forever!

This is as serious as those huge deadly pools of dihydrogen monoxide!

We must act now! Help save space! No muclear atoms in space!

Re:Sounds political to me

[Anonymous Coward]

The moon is called 'Europa' but make no mistake, there are these days two of them: the 'old Europa' and the 'new Europa' with the latter being much more favourably positioned what comes to U.S. expansion policies ;-)

Furlongs per fortnight.

[I am Jack's username]

The New Horizons spacecraft would be able to detect Pluto satellites down to 0.62 miles (1 kilometer) as it approaches the planet, but finding large satellites in advance would benefit the mission, Stern says.

Hopefully someone at NASA didn't round that kilometer figure, and then have reporters converting that 1.00 kilometer to 0.62 miles. If it was 0.55 km, it would be 0.34 miles - round the 0.55 km to 1.00 km, then have the reporter convert that 1.00 km to 0.62 miles - aargh!

Anyone out there interested in these figures who still use miles and ciceros?

Stay away from Yuggoth!

[Moe Yerca]

I swear, if NASA awakens Cthulu, Shub-Niggurath, or any evil Fungi from Yuggoth I'm going to be mighty... uh... angry. I don't want to be eaten by any cosmic evil, not yet, not at least until my own evil grows powerful enough to counter it.

Thats right, I'm here to give Pitr a run for his money.

evilmoe

Can it carry an ant farm?!?

[frenchgates]

Let's do it!

Re:Look out for Greenpeace and their ilk...

[DickBreath]

Greenpeace only has so many resources.

Maybe we can clearcut a forrest or start a war or something right about the launch time for this probe?

Re:Budgets...

[PD]

There's always one...

Hope you're having fun with that 286 running DOS. I take it you spent all that money over the years on big macs for homeless people, instead of upgrades.

No?