APOD: Last Look at Pluto's Charon Side (2015 Jul 13)

[chuckster]

But if we're still addicted to "The Kardashians" and cat videos even as we hit the Fold Space button, we're nothing BUT trouble.

Hey now, you leave the cat videos out of this. They've done nothing but good things! Good! Cats are good people.

I have to admit you might have a point. Larry Niven's "kzinti" race looked like cats to humans. But still, our attitude about cats might have the Kzinti focusing their annihilator rays on our Sun.

[neufer]

A better question might be would we have had that capability now?

Say a Cube-Sat (Elroy?)
with ultra-small features that could operate even in a highly elliptical orbit should that be necessary?

A Cube-Sat with a:

• 1) radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG)
  2) and a 2 meter radio dish antenna

so that it can actually communicate with us from 32AU

Why not just send up a NH2 and aim it in between Charon & Pluto

• (Where, oh where is orin stepanek lately )

[BMAONE23]

Since it is so far away, just send the NH2 mission as a series of 6 probes with 24 hour time delays between deployment so that close up images can be gathered from all sides

[Javachip]

A mission designed to place a probe in orbit around Pluto would certainly cost billions of dollars.

So, what's wrong with that? The Iraq War, already 1000 days old when New Horizons launched, cost $1 billion per day for 3000+ days, and was, many believe, a mistake from day 1. Sorry to inject divisive politics at a happy time like today, but we as a democratic society must continually examine our priorities.

Nevertheless, today is a great day for humanity, a day for everyone on Earth to pause and feel wonder and amazement at these stunning images arriving from very far away.

[Chris Peterson]

A mission designed to place a probe in orbit around Pluto would certainly cost billions of dollars.

So, what's wrong with that?

It's not that anything's wrong, it's just that there is only so much in the total space exploration budget, and there are missions of higher priority than Pluto. When New Horizons was launched, there was simply no way to budget enough for a Pluto mission to place us in orbit. And there still isn't. (The mission was almost canceled for budgetary reasons as it was.)

[Ron-Astro Pharmacist]

• 1) radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG)
  2) and a 2 meter radio dish antenna

so that it can actually communicate with us from 32AU

Why not just send up a NH2 and aim it in between Charon & Pluto

[/list]

Thanks Art for pointing out the technical problems associated with an armchair Astro Pharmacist's imaginative afterthoughts for NH's mission planners. I'm sure there are more than a few of us that are so taken back by the abilities of those mission planners that we think way beyond what is possible. We should just sit back and enjoy the ride rather than trying to figure out what it might have been.

Today's flyby should satisfy beyond expectations but, if not, it has already given us a view of our solar systems most would not have expected to see in our lifetimes. Here's to Pluto and beyond and all the hard works that went into New Horizons. The view will be great!!

[Beyond]

Today's flyby should satisfy beyond expectations but, if not, it has already given us a view of our solar systems most would not have expected to see in our lifetimes. Here's to Pluto and beyond and all the hard works that went into New Horizons. The view will be great!!

It does. Thanks.

[Ron-Astro Pharmacist]

Today's flyby should satisfy beyond expectations but, if not, it has already given us a view of our solar systems most would not have expected to see in our lifetimes. Here's to Pluto and beyond and all the hard works that went into New Horizons. The view will be great!!

It does. Thanks.

You're welcome. I see you capitalized on my last statement. The fun is just starting.

http://www.wired.com/2015/07/new-horizo ... s-surface/

Tomorrow should be good too.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/