Politics slowed our pursuit of Pluto
PROBE NEARS LAUNCH ON MISSION OF PURE EXPLORATION
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It is astronomers' insatiable quest to examine the conditions billions of
years ago when the planet of our solar system were forming that pushes
NASA's first robotic mission to Pluto. But political bickering has
stonewalled the program for years, postponing an attempt to reconnoiter
the frigid worlds never reached by humanity.
http://spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av010/060108overview.html