NASA discovers new exoplanet (The Onion, funny)

[collinsmark]

http://www.theonion.com/article/nasa-discovers-distant-planet-located-outside-fund-53595

"WASHINGTON—Noting that the celestial body lies within the habitable zone of its parent star and could potentially harbor liquid water, NASA officials announced at a press conference Thursday they have discovered an Earth-like planet located outside their funding capabilities. 'Proxima b is located one star away from our solar system, or just about $50 billion outside of our current budget, [...]'"​

 

[Hoophy]

If NASA or other space agencies were willing to take a serious look (maybe they already are?) at similar programs to the Breakthrough Starshot Initiative maybe some progress could be made in researching the feasibility of sending probes to nearby stars. Maybe then the funding will come.
https://breakthroughinitiatives.org/Initiative/3

 

[Ygggdrasil]

Reminds me of another great Onion article:

‘Seek Funding’ Step Added To Scientific Method

"In an effort to modernize the principles and empirical procedures of examining phenomena and advancing humanity’s collective knowledge, the International Council for Science announced Thursday the addition of a “Seek Funding” step to the scientific method. “After making an observation and forming a hypothesis as usual, the new third step of the scientific method will now require researchers to embark upon an exhaustive search for corporate or government financing,” said the group’s president, Gordon McBean, adding that the new stage of the process, which will be implemented across every scientific discipline, also entails compiling and forwarding grant proposals to hundreds of highly competitive funding sources."​

http://www.theonion.com/article/seek-funding-step-added-scientific-method-51837