mrstickball on 24 July 2012
| mysticwolf said: I don't believe NASA would send a nuclear weapon into space for the same reason they won't send nuclear waste into space: If anything at all went wrong, there would be devastating aftermath. Nuclear fallout would kill a lot of people. I don't think NASA would take that risk so they could nuke Jupiter. |
The probe, like any RTG-powered craft isn't a nuclear weapon. RTGs are very basic and well-documented. There is nothing really deadly about them, outside of a catastrophic explosion that'd send the radioactive material across an area - and even then, it may not be enough to cause significant harm.
What you have with the argument is the possibility of something happening that wasn't expected in the least. It basically broke the craft down, and gave a possible process in which the uranium could be turned into a weapons-grade state of matter, then detonated.
Incredibly unlikely, but still plausible. Would be absolutely crazy if true.
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.
