But what's with the heading? "NASA just received the last close-up photos of Pluto that humanity may ever take". That sounds terribly pessimistic. I, on the contrary, expect to see missions in the future based on fast-moving, tiny spacecraft propelled by various newer technologies which are in reach today. Solar sails (great for tiny spacecraft), various ion-type thrusters (some new variants with more oomph are in the works), or something else.
It is amazing to me the level of accuracy involved, The Mars Insight mission missed it's window of opportunity. And Mars is only a stones throw compared to Pluto. This craft will be shelved till the next window, and then go through all the pre-flight testing and preparation again. One of these days, when we invent a propulsion system that can get us close to light speed, these window's won't be necessary. We can just go there, like going to the store for a gallon of milk. Of course I want to go to the closest store for that.
I think that NASA should have invoked the 'from now on' clause in the case of Pluto. They should have said that things have to meet these criteria before they can be called planets, 'from now on'.
Comments
http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-spacecraft-sends-back-last-bit-of-data-from-2015-pluto-flyby-2016-10
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/insight/
Sandy