[erichurkman]

Part of NASA's job is to generate excitement and interest in the sciences and exploration in general, as well as to Congress who can dictate NASA's budget on a whim. Unfortunately, when they talk to the media that Voyager appears to have "left" the solar system, the general media misinterpret things and ignore some of the scientific process behind it -- the same phenomenon leads to headlines about 'X cures cancer!'.

Through this semi-public process, NASA has given the public exposure to the amazing Voyager mission that's been running for longer than many Americans have even been alive, and opened public discussion and amazement for several successive years.

I only hope there are classrooms with students eagerly plotting the trajectory of Voyager or any other missions on graph paper, sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for the next set of data to be released by NASA. Every new bit of information can open an entirely new topic to their minds, a new topic for them to dig into every public resource, article, and book they can get their hands on. (That was me, some years ago, but I digress.)