Some might question why this mission to Pluto is so interesting to so many. I think I have it figured out: not only is this the first time humanity will have a good look at this entire planetary system… this is also the *last* new world of any magnitude most of us will probably live to see explored up close. Sure, there’s lesser known Eris, which is smaller than Pluto by a few kilometers, but substantially more massive… but last I’ve heard there are no real plans to send a craft there. And it’s something like twice as far from the sun as Pluto, so barring new propulsion systems, it will take twice as long to get there… call it 18 years. Couple that with the time required to actually design, build and launch the probe… New Horizons started design work in 1990, not launching until 2006. So if that process was duplicated starting today, “New Horizons Eris” would launch in 2031 and would flyby Eris in 2049. Assuming it didn’t get cancelled, the booster didn’t fail or the transmitter went wonky.
It’s safe to assume that most reading this here blog will be good and dead the next time a human craft explores anywhere *really* new that’s bigger than an asteroid.
So… this is it, this is the end.