Budget woes for NASA interplanetary missions

Penny wise and pound foolish. I'm tempted to make a political comment about the current budget negotiations, but I will refrain. For now.

"We do not have enough money in the planetary program, by any stretch of the imagination, to fund a full-up Europa mission, a full-up Mars program, a full-up New Frontiers program, a full-up Discovery program and a full lunar program," Ed Weiler, the chief of NASA's science directorate told reporters.


Nevertheless, NASA officials say they will restructure the planetary program to match a projected budget reduction, even if the cuts aren't as deep as the White House proposed in its notional numbers. "We can't afford to keep everything," said Jim Green, director of NASA's planetary science division."

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1103/17flagship/