NASA adminstrators announced two days ago that they will design and carry out a daring mission in 2008 to repair and upgrade the Hubble Telescope which was launched 16 years ago. Two shuttles will be readied for the mission, one to be used if a rescue mission is needed. The repair will involve very sophisticated space walks, and the installation of new science instruments including Cosmic Origins Spectrograph and Wide Field Camera 3.

The mission will cost NASA $900 million, which it does not have in its budget, but administrators are determined to get from Congress. NASA has had budget difficulties of late, and many scientific projects have been scrapped because money was moved to more visible projects. The Hubble repair mission has a good chance of being funded because the National Academy of Sciences recommended the mission two years ago instead of a robotic repair which NASA had planned.

The Hubble telescope has provided astronomers with pictures and data that could not be obtained from ground-based research centers, and surely it is in the interest of science and education for Congress to fund the mission. Let’s hope so.