In january 2001, after a four-year journey and on its way to Saturn, the space probe Cassini flew past Jupiter and took some pictures. I think these are some of the most remarkable photos ever taken. It’s hard to believe that we humans have learned to build a device that can leave Earth and travel far away in our solar system and send back crystal clear images from other worlds.
The volcanic moon Io in front of its massive parent. Image credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona.
Why explore other worlds when we can play amusing games together. Screengrab from classified military video, released by Wikileaks.org
The cost of the mission was substantial, but it is dwarfed compared to what the US spends on military. The cost of the Cassini mission totals to about $3.26 billion, that is with pre-launch development included, which started back in the 80s. 14 years after launch, the mission still makes amazing discoveries and sends back the most astonishing images and it costs each year about $80 million. The US military budget for 2009 alone was a staggering $651 billion dollars – that’s enough to fund 200 Cassini missions. If you compare what the two expenses (military budget vs Cassini mission) have returned to humanity – I’d call Cassini cheap-ass.
Jupiter, seen from my living room window. Photo taken with my digital camera.
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