ARGO MISSION IN TROUBLE |
PLUTO - THE ENIGMATIC PLANET |
|
| An unprecedented security clamp down surrounds the ARGO mission to Pluto, prompting speculation that the mission has hit trouble. Despite the information blackout, rumours are circulating at Spacefleet HQ and in the World Government administration that all contact with ARGO has been been lost. ARGO is nearly half way to the distant planet, and the radio timelag is now several hours. But the Daily World Post has heard that the carrier wave, broadcast continuously by the spacecraft, has cut off in the early hours of yesterday. What this means is still uncertain, but both Spacefleet's Controller, Marshall Dare, and Prime Minister Blasco were "unavailable for comment" as the Post went to press. |
The loss of the signal from ARGO is the latest in many attempts to probe the mysteries of the ninth planet. Discovered in 1930, it has always been too far from Earth to be seen clearly even by space based telescopes, and Spacefleet has always had too many other demands on its resources to investigate the planet. This latest mission was designed both to explore the system and to test the new ion drive. It is possible that the problem lies in the new drive. Even the recently restored NIMBUS scouts would have problems trying to effect a rescue mission. more on the NIMBUS craft 
|