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Bleak times ahead for solar system exploration

  • BrianOHalloran
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13 years 2 weeks ago #88518 by BrianOHalloran
Bleak times ahead for solar system exploration was created by BrianOHalloran
The US Decadal Survey on planetary exploration was released last night - very grim reading for US scientists and current planned missions. Basically, missions like Mars sample return need to be massively descoped in order to fit in the budget profile for the next few years. The only mission that currently fits is an Uranus orbiter/atmospheric probe - no Mars, no Europa. They're hoping ESA will help with the financial burden, but there's fat chance of that, given that ESA is descoping its own medium class missions, never mind large class ones as proposed by NASA.

Of course, planetary astronomers are not being helped by ESMD's budget being swallowed up by work on JWST.....of which, as an IR astronomer, I'd very much like to see fly, but I have severe doubts that it will.

The golden age is coming to an end.

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13 years 2 weeks ago #88519 by dmcdona
Brian - so where is the money going? Is it being diverted elsewhere? Or was it just cut?

Personally, I'd like to see a mission to Mars - manned by those who ripped the guts out of the world economy. I'm in two minds as to wheteher it should be one way or not...

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13 years 2 weeks ago #88523 by BrianOHalloran
Replied by BrianOHalloran on topic Re: Bleak times ahead for solar system exploration
Combination of the space science budget being slashed, along with cost overruns for certain space science programs such as JWST.

NASA's budget is under severe pressure in Congress, so things will only get worse.

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