NASA To Shut Down Two Interstellar Probes

NASA Plans to Turn Off Several Satellites, Science (subscription)

“NASA intends to stop operating more than a half-dozen existing science probes at the end of this year, including the famed Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft now racing toward the edge of the solar system. Although space agency officials say no final decisions have been made, the agency’s 2006 budget request includes no money for a host of solar and space physics projects that currently cost a total of $23 million annually.”

Editor’s note: This is certainly shortsighted on NASA’s part: humanity shuts down two interstellar probes for want of a trivial amount of money in the overall scheme of things. Perhaps the Drake equation – you know, the one that is used by some to estimate the prevalence and lifespan of technological civilizations in the cosmos – should have a new variable added: budget.