[Nateman]

I bet eco-wheenies and peace-nicks put out the lights here. They went crazy over plutonium on Galileo imagine the hysteria over launching an actual reactor. I'd like to see a self sufficient moon colony some day that could take on such projects on their own : they could just ignore the watermelon bunch.

[Arkie2]

I doubt the enviro's had the hammer here. I'm guessing NASA has decided to forego prometheus in favor of using that funding for the manned program. It's strictly a political decision driven by the president's emphasis on manned exploration

We're trading our future in space for more feel good missions with men on board at the expense of real science and exploration. But, that's just my humble opinion.