Good Question: Why Does Pluto Matter?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - On Wednesday afternoon, NASA released a series of photographs of Pluto that show ice mountains as high as the Rockies. Those pictures came from an unmanned spacecraft that took nine-and-a-half years to make the three-billion mile trip to the dwarf planet.
The cost was $720 million dollars, but experts say the benefits are far more than that.
So, why does Pluto matter? Good Question.
It's a conversation Americans have had about space exploration since we put a man on the moon in 1969. Experts say learning about other planets helps us learn lots more about Earth.
"This ship is going faster than anything humans have ever made," said Ron Schmit, a PSL/NASA Ambassador. "We set the bar, we go over the top of it and then what do we do next? We raise the bar up a notch and see if we can do it again."
In just one day, scientists say what they've already learned about the fringes of our solar system could be a game-changer.
"We've tended to think of these midsize worlds ... as probably candy-coated lumps of ice," said John Spencer, a scientist with the Southwest Research Institute. "This means they could be equally diverse and be equally amazing if we ever get a spacecraft out there to see them close up."
NASA's budget is one-half of one percent of the entire U.S. federal budget. That's much less than the more than 4 percent the U.S. was spending in the mid-1960s.
Schmit says people ask him all the time why the U.S. spends money on space exploration.
"We're not spending money in space, we're not spending a dime in space," he said. "All the money is spent down here, employing people like you and me."
According to NASA, NASA scientists have created the technology behind at least 1,800 things people use every day. Artificial limbs, de-icing for planes, rumble strips, firefighter gear, ear thermometers, memory foam, tools to harness solar energy and the dust buster are just a few examples.
"Things that aren't invented need some spark, or impetus, some problem to solve," said Schmit. "Exploration does that. You're going somewhere we've never been. You probably need technologies that we don't have."
For people who are interested in learning more about Pluto, the Staring Lake Observatory in Eden Prairie will be offering a talk about that topic this Friday at 9:30 p.m.
