NASA's Deep Space Mission Plan Draws Criticism from Scientists

NASA is considering changing the primary goal of the New Horizons spacecraft from observing objects in the Kuiper Belt to studying the Sun's environment, a move that has frustrated the science team behind the mission. The team argues that New Horizons can continue being a planetary and heliophysics mission at the same time without affecting the cost or trajectory of the spacecraft. The New Horizons team fears that the mission will be disbanded if NASA's decision goes into effect, and is lobbying to reverse the decision.