In December 1968, to worldwide acclaim for Nasa, Apollo 8 successfully circled the moon 10 times before returning to Earth. Nasa’s space shuttle was launched more than 130 times, with only two of its missions ending in disaster. If I were an American, I would not support Nasa’s manned programme – I would argue that private companies should “front” all manned missions as cut-price, high-risk ventures. And the entire solar system – planets, moons and asteroids – will be explored by fleets of tiny automated probes, interacting with each other like a flock of birds. A New Year message from the edge of the solar system Read moreBut no feasible probes can reach beyond our solar system.

Source: The Guardian July 20, 2019 04:52 UTC