Mission to Pluto

If all goes well, the world's first ever mission to Pluto will be launched in a matter of hours. If all goes further well, the NASA satellite will reach Pluto in July, 2015. Where will I and my friends be then?

In 1997, I remember thinking similarly when Cassini was launched for a mission to Saturn and Titan. I was in 8th standard then, and a bit more melancholy than I am now. Cassini was to reach Saturn in July, 2004. I wondered then what my life would be like in 2004. As it turned out, I was in a pretty good state - about to enter the last year of my engineering course and generally enjoying the days with my friends.

Where will I be when New Horizons (the name of the Pluto mission) reaches its destination? Hopefully I would have completed reading Shakespeare. Bombay will probably remain my home, and perhaps have a metro rail system. Don't know where I'll be working. I wish I would be facing the sea, writing on politics, history or economics. But I fear that I would be sitting in an office, typing memos or something in a banking type firm. I wonder if Moti would have started working on his dream movie. What a way to waste the mountains of money he would have accumulated by then! Or if Kammo would have visited Tibet. I'm sure Chhedi would have wandered further around and outside India. And Titli would have added atleast a dozen countries to the already long list of ones she's visited. Oka would be a world famous wielder of the humorous pen. Can't seem to picture Prostee - perhaps he would be a sidekick in Moti's movie (kidding - I'm sure he would assist Moti in scripting the movie).

Sid and Manas would have done MBAs in the US and realized their utter intellectual uselessness (the MBA courses', not their own). Matka would have made a killing on the stock markets and mock at the ilk of us who are into I-Banking. And Megha and Irwan would have children who would be perennially confused between who/which was better - Dravid or Ganguly, Bombay or Delhi.

Vrisha would be 13, perhaps beginning to be brainwashed into dreaming of getting into WIMWI. But WIMWI is not so bad, after all.

Don't think the PGP course would change at all - 9:00 am to 1:10 pm would remain the drill.

Will this blog remain? Let's see.

BTW I eagerly look forward to the New Horizons mission for its own sake. Learning more about Pluto and its satellite Charon will be really exciting.