Good News For Saturn

In a move of startling good sense, NASA has decided to extend the Cassini probe's ongoing mission to study Saturn and its moons. The project was slated to end this summer, but since Cassini is still chugging along in good condition, sending back data and pictures, and dramatically improving our knowledge of the Saturnian system, they've decided to let it run until 2010.

This is one of those bits of space program budget card tricks I honestly don't understand. Shouldn't every mission like this include some sort of "automatic extension as long as the probe keeps running" clause in the appropriation? When the Federal government can find money for every Congressman's pet pork-barrel project, surely learning about a whole planet is worth some bucks? Especially given that they've already paid for the expensive part -- building and launching the probe. Extending the mission basically means finding some quarters under the seat cushions to keep the grad students running the thing in ramen noodles and Jolt for another semester.