Saving the Hubble Telescope Is a Job Worth Paying For
NASA’s plan to recruit unpaid volunteers to rescue the Hubble telescope fails to appreciate the ongoing value of this scientific treasure.
Three views of Saturn captured in 2003 by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Source: NASA via Getty Images
Since 1977, the US has spent at least $16 billion to design, build and operate the Hubble Space Telescope. What a bargain. Not only has Hubble redefined how humans understand the universe, but it’s played a critical role in training a generation of scientists and engineers.
Unfortunately, Hubble is steadily losing altitude — essentially falling back to Earth — and soon NASA will have to make a decision. It must either boost the telescope to a higher orbit, or let it continue falling until it crashes back to Earth, hopefully in the ocean.