"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
...
So your thesis is, that as long as the per capita amount of tax money
misappropriated by NASA is small, that sort of malfeasance is
acceptable?

I doubt that's his thesis. My guess is that, as with mine, the question is
how much YOU are paying. YOU are the one complaining. Many taxpayers are
satisfied with how their money is being spent.

I don't know why "Skywise" thinks the ashes are less than a gram (about a
teaspoon, I'd guess?), but I agree they are not heavy. My grandfather's
ashes didn't weigh even a kilogram, if I recall correctly. They definitely
weren't as heavy as two kilograms. Using Skywise's numbers, that puts the
cost at still under a penny (just as he guessed).

Even if I were bothered by the concept of someone's ashes riding along to
Pluto, a half-cent misappropriation of my tax dollars by the US government
is a drop in the bucket compared to the other things they spend money on and
which I object to. When the stuff that's tens and hundreds of my dollars is
dealt with, then I would consider worrying about the half-cent problems.

IMHO, it's pretty irrational and not at all scientist-like to fixate on such
a teensy tiny issue when the huge elephant-sized ones are still unresolved.

Pete