Cassini mission extended
Published on Apr 18, 2008 at 7:25 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under NASA.
In a news release a few days ago, cash strapped NASA has decided to keep funding the Cassini mission for two more years. Cassini is a several billion dollar two ton unmanned spacecraft that is currently orbiting Saturn. It was one of the last of NASA’s signature large expensive space missions (such as Galileo, Magellan, and the Hubble Space Telescope). Most of the successive missions have been much smaller in scope and price. However, it is hard to get to Saturn, and the thought was that one really good spacecraft could do what many smaller ones could do. Of course, it can only keep doing good work if the mission is funded. Now, the spacecraft isn’t going anywhere, and it isn’t really using more money itself (you don’t need to keep putting gas into it, or anything). But, it costs money to pay the salaries of the people here on Earth who control it and track it. It takes time and money to operate the instruments of the Deep Space Network to monitor Cassini and to pick up the signals that it sends back. So, if all of that money is cut off, then the spacecraft will be there, but nobody here on Earth will be listening to it. And, of course, with the money spent to put it there, then that would be quite a waste. CNN reports that NASA will spend $160 million over the next two years on the Cassini mission. That sounds like a lot, but it doesn’t really go far. And, to put it into perspective, that is about what movie studios spend on big motion pictures. And, Cassini is far more important than simple entertainment!
-Astroprof
Skitch on April 19, 2008 at 11:23 am: 1
Dear Astroprof,
Thank you for making us aware of the intelligent re-funding by NASA of the Cassini project. I noticed that the news media watches your blog, and glean info from it. You had the story 1 day ahead of the media.
Hopefully, the re-funding heralds a new think process for NASA and other agencies. To find new ways to extend the life span and utilize that in which we have invested (programs, satellites, technologies, etc.), maximizing use of our resources. It does takes money, but it is money well spent on these pursuits.
Or would that be too far a stretch from the norm?