On Thu, 26 Jan 2006 21:38:14 -0000, Skywise
wrote in
::

"Peter Duniho" wrote in
:

"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.

BINGO!!!


That point of view is like asserting the cost of a home is the value
of a single mortgage payment . The cost to taxpayers is clearly the
entire additional sum (if any) resulting from the inclusion
(preparation, testing, launch, ...) of the ashes aboard the New
Horizons mission to Pluto.


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).
Snipola

I had done further research as I had no idea how much is left after
cremation. According the wikipedia article on the subject, about 5%
of the orignal mass is left, so given a 200lb person that worked out
to a few kilo's max.

It works out to less than 5 kilograms, but sheds no light on the
weight of the ashes aboard.

I conjectured that less than a gram is on board because all the
confirming statements about the presence of said ashes state "a
portion of" his ashes are on board. That clearly indicates that not
all of his ashes are flying, but probably just a representative
small sample for the purpose of honoring the man who discovered
Pluto. There's no need to carry much. It's a symbol of honor.

While I agree, that the amount is probably small, I don't think the
data you cite supports that, as any amount less than the entire amount
of ashes would be considered a 'portion'.

So, shall we move on to the issue of the digital disc carried on
the Cassini spacecraft with the digitized signatures of hundreds
of thousands of people? (including myself) IIRC there's a similar
disc on New Horizons as well.

Yep, according to: http://www.space.com/astronotes/astronotes.html

...the New Horizons spacecraft bound for Pluto is toting a
number of items, including a U.S. flag, as well as a compact
disc containing more than 430,000 names.

And

...a piece of SpaceShipOne


I'm flabbergasted to learn this.

No, Larry, I think you're missing the point of all these things
that are flown on these craft. These symbols are useful because
it gives the average joe blow (or jane) something to connect with.

Yeah. It finally began to dawn on me that that is the only plausible
explanation.

99% of people don't understand the significance of exploring these
worlds and spending all this money. By giving people some way of
connecting themselves personally to these missions, they feel more
involved. Perhaps it's nothing more than PR BS, but if it means
getting more people aware of the importance of doing this kind of
science, I'm all for it.


If it works in keeping the research funded, it's difficult argue
against the practice. But I still feel uneasy about it.

This may sound strange, but it has occurred to me, that the New
Horizons spacecraft will travel the cosmos for perhaps billions of
years. While the odds of an alien life form, with the intelligence to
at least understand what the probe is, are remote, what would you
think of a race of organisms that chose to include the charred remains
of a representative of their species aboard an otherwise completely
functional piece of mechanical equipment?

To me it just seems an anachronism, an act appropriate for stone age
beings, not those sufficiently advanced to achieve such a
technological feat. But given the longs odds and funding
requirements, I believe I've come accept it.