Extending Messenger

Scientists wanting to extend the mission of NASA's Messenger probe, the first spaceeecraft to orbit Mercury and a mission that has shaped our current understanding of the innermost planet, will have to contend not only with the demands of spaceflight, but with the stark complexities of Washington politics, as well.

In these days of sequestration, budget cuts, and battles over taxes, extending a space mission won't be any politician's priority.  However, as Washington movers and shakers know all too well, there is government waste, and then there is government waste.  Some waste is so obvious it's almost funny.  Some so-called pork barrel projects seem simply bizarre.  Another kind of waste, however, would be spending years and hundreds of millions of dollars to put a spacecraft in orbit around Mercury and shutting down the mission while the spacecraft is still functioning and producing quality data.  That, too, would be bizarre.