Saving New Horizons
These are the sorts of discoveries we stand to lose if New Horizons is canceled. Shutting down the spacecraft would mean abandoning our best window into the outer Solar System — one already built, paid for, and working smoothly. Worlds would go unexplored, and mysteries would remain unsolved.
“We’re the only spacecraft out there,” Stern said. “There’s nothing else planned to come this way.”
But the cost of cancellation would not just be scientific. All the labor that went into designing the mission and building the spacecraft, the years spent wringing meaningful measurements and beautiful images out of it, all the people who dedicated their careers to New Horizons, all those who were inspired by it, everyone who stood up and spoke out again and again to say that this mission mattered to them — all would feel the loss.
Now, as ever, The Planetary Society is standing by New Horizons. We are encouraging Congress to reject the White House’s plan and organizing ways you can show elected officials that space science and exploration matter. Whether we are sending postcards, petitions, or Bill Nye himself to the Capitol, The Planetary Society will advocate for this mission and all other science projects facing pointless termination.
If enough people take action, there is still time to save NASA science.