Moons of Saturn

I caught this cool image on the 'net and I was blown away! NASA's Cassini mission gives us some startling photos of Saturn's moons, Tethys (left) and Titan. In fact, the Cassini mission is regarded as a major scientific triumph for the financially beleaguered space agency. So if you're really into the Space-thing and you love seeing this kinds stuff, well tough shit!! Because this program is on the Republican Congress' budget chopping block.

Aparently NASA is scrapping the more scientifically juicy programs (like the Cassini probe and Mars missions) in favor of the big money items which yield little in the way of new science: the shuttle and the international space center. According to Time's science writer Jeffrey Kluger,

And though every federal agency faces hard choices to make ends meet, the missions NASA is scrapping make the least fiscal dent at the greatest scientific price. NASA was founded in 1958 with the expectation that smart scientists and gutsy lawmakers and bureaucrats could get together to explore the cosmos without breaking the bank in the process. For a while they did. Now it looks like most of the money will keep getting spent but the cosmic rewards will continue to dwindle. The scientists, by any measure, are still smart. The same, alas, cannot be said for everyone else.

Sounds like the Bush Administration to me!! You can tell a lot about someone by watching them spend money. The same can be said for our government. Seeing our republican-led government making cuts in every area (healthcare, science, education) to pay for their war follies is a real kick in the balls for this liberal. Exactly where do the government's fiscal priorities leave you?

(Image courtesy of the NASA/Cassini website. For more pics, check'em out!!)