Trip To Pluto

Even under the best-case scenario, with New Horizons launching as planned and problem-free on Jan. 11, the journey to Pluto will take 9 1/2 years. The trip includes a slingshot maneuver by Jupiter in 2007 for an extra burst of speed.

(mind the irritating Discovery.com pop-ups)

I'm all for projects that further the interests of scientific discovery...but a trip to frickin' Pluto...seems like a colossal waste of time, money, resources, and effort.

We don't even have a solid handle on our own little rock yet. Why are we going to screw around with one that takes a decade to get to, and is so remote that it's atmosphere lays in frozen sheets on it's surface?