🚀 go-pugleaf

It was mentioned that TAU will be able to explore the heliopause, the
region where the solar wind gives way to interstellar gas.  While I
believe exploring the local interstellar medium is a great idea,
you don't need a HST-class telescope to do it.  Nor does one need
nuclear powered ion engines.  A recently proposed idea is to drop
a vehicle in an aeroshell through Venus's upper atmosphere to
put it onto a sun grazing orbit.  At perihelion you fire a rocket
and get a nice big boost.  The probe could then sail to Neptune
in 1.9 years, and could reach the heliopause not too long after.
A spacecraft with plasma measuring instruments and low data rates
would doubtlessly be much less expensive than a full blown astrometric
scope.