Wednesday, January 21, 2004
Help for Hubble?
One of the side effects of President Bush's recent refocusing of NASA's mission to human exploration of the Moon and Mars is that the Hubble Space Telescope will no longer be serviced, leaving it with only about 3 years of functionality left. Space.com reports, however, that there are initiatives underway to keep Hubble alive, including private donations and help from Russia or the European Space Agency for servicing.
[Space Telescope Science Institute Director Steven] Beckwith said there is no precedent in the history of astronomy for removing a telescope from operation before a better one is online. A classic example: A 100-inch telescope on Mt. Wilson, in California, was built in 1917. It was still in operation in 1948 when the 200-inch Palomar Observatory was opened, also in California.
Both are still in use.
| :: posted by Donald Melanson, 7:17 PM
|
|
<< Home