Outer planets choice is narrowed (BBC)

[Drew Wilson]

Ambitious plans to send probes to the outer planets are being considered by US and European space officials.

One proposal envisages sending an orbiter to Saturn which would also drop a lander and a balloon on to the haze-shrouded moon Titan.

The other sees two separate orbiters despatched to investigate Jupiter and its icy moons - Europa and Ganymede.

Space agency officials will meet next week to decide which of the two plans should go forward for further study.

More... (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7842254.stm)

Perfect. If/When Russia reasserts itself as the new superpower, they'll already be addapted to freeze their asses off on these planets when we have the technology to land someone there. ;)

[thelastfreeman]

New planets. hm. We can always stop screwing up the one we have.

Here's an interesting thought, as the world's population rises to unmanageable levels, overcrowding and lack of food will force leaders to make tough decisions. The next war will be fought over clean water and food.

[El Comandante]

It would be nice is Nasa could justify these programs by promising real world applications for the knowledge gathered in these explorations. Exploration for explorations sake is fine.... but expensive.

[Crashtard]

Space exploration might be expensive, but nasa also churns out real world technology like crazy. Kidney Dialysis, CAT scans, Insulation Barriers and Water Purification technologies are just a few of the things they've invented. I know it's expensive and sometimes they don't do things as well as the private sector does, but I like to think that the benefits outweigh the costs.