Is NASA Shutting Down Long-Running Space Missions to Save Money?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the potential shutdown of NASA's long-running Voyager missions due to budgetary constraints. Participants express concerns about the implications of such a decision on scientific research and data collection at the fringes of the solar system.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express outrage at the possibility of shutting down the Voyager missions, labeling it as a shortsighted decision driven by financial concerns.
  • Others argue that the cost of maintaining the Voyager missions is relatively low (4.2 million per year) compared to the potential scientific value they provide.
  • A few participants suggest that the Voyager scientists should seek funding from alternative sources, such as philanthropic organizations, given the current political climate affecting NASA's budget.
  • Concerns are raised about the intersection of politics and science, with some participants noting that decisions are often influenced by political agendas rather than scientific merit.
  • Some participants highlight the need for a more organized effort from the science community to advocate for funding and support for space missions, drawing parallels to successful campaigns in other areas.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the value of the Voyager missions and express frustration over potential funding cuts. However, there is no consensus on how to effectively advocate for continued support or the role of politics in these decisions.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention the importance of the Voyager missions in gathering unique data from the heliopause and the challenges posed by current budgetary constraints. There is acknowledgment of the broader implications of government funding priorities on scientific research.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to individuals involved in space exploration, science policy advocacy, and those concerned with the funding of scientific research in the context of political decision-making.

Phobos
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Voyagers - - you're fired!?

http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050307/pf/434125a_pf.html

NASA has told scientists working on some of the agency's longest-running space missions — including the twin Voyagers now speeding towards the edge of the Solar System — that they may have to shut down operations in October to save money.

The decision — which NASA officials say is not yet final — has angered scientists, who call it penny-wise and pound-foolish, and say that it is being made without the usual formal review by the science community.

Inevitable I suppose, but maybe we could hold a bake sale or something to help out. :smile:

First Hubble, now this.
 
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Phobos said:
http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050307/pf/434125a_pf.html



Inevitable I suppose, but maybe we could hold a bake sale or something to help out. :smile:

First Hubble, now this.

HOW DARE THEY?

They dare to turn off the almighty, charismatic voyagers which have been resilient enough to survive through 4 Gas giants and through intergalactic space?!??!

One of the greatest engineering works, and they now want to trash it...for money. Wtf? If they turn it off, we will most probably never see such poetic and adventurous space probes ever again.
 
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Bladibla said:
HOW DARE THEY?

They dare to turn off the almighty, charismatic voyagers which have been resilient enough to survive through 4 Gas giants and through intergalactic space?!??!

One of the greatest engineering works, and they now want to trash it...for money. Wtf? If they turn it off, we will most probably never see such poetic and adventurous space probes ever again.

Cheer up! Vacuum is great for long-term storage, and I sure hope that by the end of this century someone will catch up to the Voyagers and Pioneers and give them each a swift relativistic kick in the rear.
 
It is rather discomforting news, another instance where politics and science should not be mixed. The loss of the Voyager probes means that they cannot gather valuable information on the fringes of the solar system like the heliopause that separates the heliosphere from the interstellar medium.

From what I read that was the last objective of the Voyager probes and that it would be accomplished in only a few years. Surely they could have maintained funding until that time.
 
It would seem kind of dumb to pull the plug on Voyager. It only costs 4.2M per year and there is no other foreseeable opportunity to gather data that far out in the solar system. Cripes, 4.2M is chump change.
 
Well, NASA operates at the whim of politicians who know or care little about science, unless of course it is in their district or gets them re-elected. Yeah, I am a cynic.

On the other hand, the Voyager scientists should look outside of NASA for financial support (sign of the times). Sources for such work could be NSF, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Paul Allen, or some other philanthropic organization.

I think many (in the US) have come to expect the government to dole out money for this project or that project. Well with the current political agenda in Washington, there is much less money for basic R&D. NASA and the DOE labs have had their budgets cut to the bone, and in some cases, fingers, and perhaps some limbs are at risk too!

In 20 years, I have seen numerous corporate R&D programs decimated - all in the name of profit. That is the reality, and those of us in science and technology have to adapt to it.
 
Chronos said:
It would seem kind of dumb to pull the plug on Voyager. It only costs 4.2M per year and there is no other foreseeable opportunity to gather data that far out in the solar system. Cripes, 4.2M is chump change.

My sentiments exactly. Imagine what it would cost, for example, to design a study from scratch to examine accellerations of objects in the fringe of the solar system. Here we have just such an experiment in place with no design or launch costs and no delays in implementation.
 
Astronuc said:
Well, NASA operates at the whim of politicians who know or care little about science, unless of course it is in their district or gets them re-elected. Yeah, I am a cynic.

What politicians care about is getting re-elected. There is a word for politicians who don't devote their earnest attention to that; the word is ex-politician.

And who re-elects them? That small minority of the voters, themselves a minorty of the people, who vote steadily in off-year elections. If you want to influence any policy in congress you have to have a national organization that can address a large number of congressional districts with local people who are willing to put shoe leather into canvassing and a full complement of spin doctors to associate your policy with good things in these faithful voters' minds. This all costs money, too, so you'd better have an effective fund raising organisation. It's not impossible to do this; MADD did it on drunk driving, and the Brady bunch did it on guns. Why haven't space or science buffs done it? I am cynical too; I think too many people like to blame "the gummint" for the problems they are responsible for themselves.
 
Astronuc said:
On the other hand, the Voyager scientists should look outside of NASA for financial support (sign of the times). Sources for such work could be NSF, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Paul Allen, or some other philanthropic organization.

A good idea...that's what the SETI folks did when their NASA funding was eliminated by Congress.
 
  • #10
selfAdjoint said:
Why haven't space or science buffs done it?

Seems like they (we!) have some influence, but not quite enough yet.

e.g., prompting a national debate over Hubble (made NASA/Congress reconsider their initial decision), they're keeping the hopes for a Pluto mission alive, etc.

"they" being groups such as The Planetary Society, etc.
 
  • #11
Not to turn this into a political thread, but the Voyager program and all other scientific grants should take precedence over wars of an imperalistic nature. But then again, scientists do not rule the world (unfortunately) and as Astronuc said, we are at the whim of politicans.

Anyway, if one actually studies the government expenditures (from any almanac or even the GAO or CBO), the U.S. could easily increase spending (im talking about at least quadrupling) for NASA or the NSF so long as the U.S. isn't running up interest on foreign loans (2nd biggest expense) and defense spending (1st biggest expense).

But, of course, we will never learn, and things like this will continue to happen.
 
  • #12
Phobos said:
Seems like they (we!) have some influence, but not quite enough yet.

e.g., prompting a national debate over Hubble (made NASA/Congress reconsider their initial decision), they're keeping the hopes for a Pluto mission alive, etc.

"they" being groups such as The Planetary Society, etc.

[rant]I've seen the ads and come ons in magazines like Ad Astra, and at the Voyage to Arcturus web site, but compared to a real high-powered campaign, they're rubes from the sticks, or a classical music radio station during pledge week. Like they're embarassed to be so crude. They should go get the MADD playbook and learn how to work up a real campaign. Years of inviting people to spend $25 to eat $1.50 worth of food at some cheap hall rented from the Knights of Columbus or the VFW. Much effort into building contact lists, not just depend on self-selected marks to walk in. And so on, and on. And it's all aimed at people who initially have no interest in space or whatever, and who will have to be wooed and won. We know that the Asperger types who shine in science can't do that themselves, but the just folks types who love space or colliders can doit, and they should. [/rant]
 

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