With so much pioneering science that such a probe could do researchers know they can still make a case for the Pluto probe.

BBC: Scientists plan Pluto flyby

One way to resolve the issue might be to send an unmanned space probe to Pluto.

ECONOMIST: Pluto out in the cold

Even so, Pluto is so far away the probe won't get there for nearly a decade.

NPR: NASA Sends Spacecraft to Pluto