Slashdot Mirror


Interstellar Pioneers Facing Termination

marcel-jan.nl writes "There are plans to terminate the interstellar missions Voyager 1 and 2 and the solar mission Ulysses in October to save money. The Voyagers alone need $4.2 million a year for daily operation and data analysis. Scientist say this cut is "an extremely foolish thing to do": the Voyagers are approaching the edge of the Solar System and Ulysses is observing the Sun coming to the end of a 22-year magnetic cycle."

9 of 581 comments (clear)

  1. DANGER by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 5, Funny

    Do not look into the sun with your remaining $4.2 million.

    --
    liqbase :: faster than paper
  2. 4.2 million? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Doesn't our government spend that much money like, every tenth of a second? Geeze, Congress should be able to find that much money in the seat cushions of their couch.

  3. Can't Stop by sbowles · · Score: 5, Funny

    We must continue to monitor V_y_ger's progress so that we aren't taken by suprise when he returns.

    --
    You sly dog: you got me monologuing! - Syndrome
  4. V'Ger by StarWreck · · Score: 5, Funny

    So... THIS is how one of the Voyager spacecraft becomes a super-powerful entity and we have no clue whats going on when it comes back to kill us all.

    If only we had kept monitoring the transmissions from the Voyager spacecraft, we'd be able to tell when it starts its homicidal rampage.

    --
    ... and in the DRM, bind them.
  5. How much will it cost to mail the pink slip? by spookymonster · · Score: 4, Funny

    I mean, the V'grs havae a 28 year headstart. building a Human Resources probe fast enough to catch up with them may be cost-prohibitive. It might be cheaper just to keep 'em both on the books and write them off at tax time.

    --
    - Despite popular opinion, I am not perfect.
  6. Open it up to hackers by selectspec · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm surprised North Korea hasn't just hacked the Voyager crafts yet. It wouldn't take much programming skills (just a seriously powerful transmitter/receiver) to upload your own firmware into those suckers that locked out anyone else's signal.

    Maybe they should just open source the sucker. Let the open source community run the science. Put the sucker on sourceforge and give us access to the transmitters everyone once in a while.

    --

    Someone you trust is one of us.

  7. Re:How come by justins · · Score: 4, Funny
    $4.2 million dollars to analyse incoming data? You could employ 80 PhD astrophysicists for a year for that much.

    If they were working in tents and using abacuses.
    --
    Now before I get modded down, I be to remind whoever might read this that what I am saying is FACT. - bogaboga
  8. Re:*sigh* Figures. by mntgomery · · Score: 5, Funny
    the significance of the Voyager program

    The Voyager program is the one that rebuilds itself as a giant starship, renames itself V-ger and blazes a path of destruction on its way to destroy Earth, right?
    --

    This comment was generated by a squadron of trained super elite albino ninja chickens for you.
  9. Leave Iraq 39 minutes Early by ntsucks · · Score: 5, Funny

    By my calculations at $166 million a day to be in Iraq, the US government could save the Voyager's first year's $4.5 million by leaving Iraq 39 minutes early. That seems reasonable.

    --
    Those who can do. Those who can't sue.