Sunday, January 16, 2005

Fine with light breezes and occasional ice blocks

For the first time in human history, scientists have successfully landed a probe on an alien moon. Armed with a mass spectrometer, three cameras and a few other dangly bits, the Huygens probe sent back data that will keep the curious and speculative busy for hours. The first full colour picture can be seen here.

According to New Scientist, the Cassini-Huygens probe cost $A3.27 billion. That's about half New Zealand's budget surplus for this year. Given the choice, would you buy one election or two space probes?

NB. I Might be Wrong
TVNZ reckons Cassini-Huygens at $US 3.2 billion. You can buy one NZ election or only one space probe.