Mars Rover Opportunity Faces New Threat: Budget Ax

astroengine writes "NASA's baseline budget for the year beginning Oct. 1 pulls the plug on the 10-year-old Mars rover Opportunity, newly released details of the agency's fiscal 2015 spending plan show. The plan, which requires Congressional approval, also anticipates ending the orbiting Mars Odyssey mission on Sept. 30, 2016. 'There are pressures all over the place,' NASA's planetary science division director Jim Green said during an advisory council committee teleconference call on Wednesday."

Give control to the internet

[JesseJMH]

For a monthly fee, they should allow commoners to send commands to the rover. Lets see how fast the internet can break it! Bonus points for getting to the scale of twitch plays Pokemon.

open source it

[globaljustin]

I think the whole "budget crisis on infinite earth's" is all fiscal voodoo...however if this has to happen, we should turn it over "to the community"

NASA should open the project to screened volunteers who maintain the basic mission functions.

NASA could set up an API & a simple prototyping program & let people download it for free. Best ideas get kicked up the ladder...eventually to NASA staff who could approve it.

This should be happening now...it would cost virtually nothing (on NASA $ scales) and get thousands interested & involved in space.

Re:open source it

[Anonymous Coward]

They would probably be better off giving operational control over to a university with an existing research program. Preferably one that could field its own operations center (under the assumption that their budget problem is facilities and staff). The university could then create an outreach program for interested community members (maybe team up with the Udacity guys and do something online).