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"There’s going to be a boarding party on the first of October next year,” says Alan Stern, the mission’s principal investigator" I think the unstated is that t
by breput 3y ago
"There’s going to be a boarding party on the first of October next year,” says Alan Stern, the mission’s principal investigator"
I think the unstated is that the original group of scientists feels like they are being put out to pasture in favor of a new set of researchers. But as you mentioned, if there aren't any more Kuiper belt objects on the "horizon", it seems like the right move.
- imglorp 3y agoPlus the door is still open if another belt object is found before the spacecraft leaves the area. Anyway it's not like they can put the brakes on and stay: how much delta V can they have fuel left for ?
- onetwentythree 3y agoMaybe I’m wrong, but having it classified as a planetary mission probably funds their positions and a lot of continued research (even if the research is based on data already taken). Reclassifying the mission probably means the scientists need to look for new sources of funding. So I get that they’re not happy, but it sounds like a rational decision on NASA’s part.