COLUMBIA’s tragic loss came just two days before NASA delivered its wish list for future missions to its paymasters in Congress. Top of the bill was a spectacular multibillion-dollar nuclear-powered trip to Jupiter, but fixing the shuttle fleet might cost so much that the plan will wither. Like NASA, Congress has been stunned by Columbia’s loss and may take many months to decide how much cash the agency will get in 2004.
Still, NASA’s proposals will excite scientists. The Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) mission would fly sometime after 2010, orbiting, mapping and studying first Callisto, then moving inward to Ganymede and Europa. Goals include mapping…
