Philosophy
With new proposals for NASA on the table, it seems a good time to ask whether a manned flight to Mars -- the centerpiece of the Bush space priorities -- makes any sense and more generally whether sending people instead of robots into space makes sense.
To support human life, there has to be a whole host of systems added to the flight which takes space, time, weight, and lots of cash that could otherwise be dedicated to scientific instrumentation that could be taking meaurements and running additional experiments. What is the payoff for these costs? Yes, there are some things that can be done by people that we cannot do or at least cannot be done well without. And there is a cost to the image -- the public loves seeing people in space because it accords with our science fiction fantasies. But if the purpose of space exploration is science and more science is done by sending metal and no flesh, why spend money to do less science, just for a boost of the cultural imagination?
- The Case Against Manned Spaceflight
Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's historic orbiting of the Earth, initiating the era of manned spaceflight. Humans were no longer limited to our home planet, we were now citizens of the universe in a way we had never been before....
- Space...humans Or Robots
"Humans vs. Robots: Who Should Dominate Space Exploration?"byAdam Mann April 11th, 2012WiredThe most recent footprints on the moon are 40 years old, and the next artificial mark on the lunar surface will probably be made by a robot’s wheels rather...
- Great Idea From Martin Rees On Space Exploration And Man
I have been advocating this for years. "No need for manned spaceflight, says astronomer royal Martin Rees" Martin Rees believes sending people into space is pointless and a waste of money'' by Cian O'Luanaigh July 26th, 2010 guardian.co.uk...
- To The Moon And Beyond
"Men will return to the moon, but they will likely speak Chinese." This is a well-crafted article promoting political and cultural hype. It fosters the assumption that bias and non-cooperation would be the rule. Besides, where is it written that only...
- Man In Space--common Sense Statement
Well, it appears that "common sense" and logic are settling in at NASA. "Space review panel says moon, Mars out of reach" by Irene Klotz August 14th, 2009 Reuters The U.S. plan to return astronauts to the moon by 2020 will not happen without a big boost...
Philosophy
Is Manned Spaceflight Obsolete?
With new proposals for NASA on the table, it seems a good time to ask whether a manned flight to Mars -- the centerpiece of the Bush space priorities -- makes any sense and more generally whether sending people instead of robots into space makes sense.
To support human life, there has to be a whole host of systems added to the flight which takes space, time, weight, and lots of cash that could otherwise be dedicated to scientific instrumentation that could be taking meaurements and running additional experiments. What is the payoff for these costs? Yes, there are some things that can be done by people that we cannot do or at least cannot be done well without. And there is a cost to the image -- the public loves seeing people in space because it accords with our science fiction fantasies. But if the purpose of space exploration is science and more science is done by sending metal and no flesh, why spend money to do less science, just for a boost of the cultural imagination?
- The Case Against Manned Spaceflight
Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's historic orbiting of the Earth, initiating the era of manned spaceflight. Humans were no longer limited to our home planet, we were now citizens of the universe in a way we had never been before....
- Space...humans Or Robots
"Humans vs. Robots: Who Should Dominate Space Exploration?"byAdam Mann April 11th, 2012WiredThe most recent footprints on the moon are 40 years old, and the next artificial mark on the lunar surface will probably be made by a robot’s wheels rather...
- Great Idea From Martin Rees On Space Exploration And Man
I have been advocating this for years. "No need for manned spaceflight, says astronomer royal Martin Rees" Martin Rees believes sending people into space is pointless and a waste of money'' by Cian O'Luanaigh July 26th, 2010 guardian.co.uk...
- To The Moon And Beyond
"Men will return to the moon, but they will likely speak Chinese." This is a well-crafted article promoting political and cultural hype. It fosters the assumption that bias and non-cooperation would be the rule. Besides, where is it written that only...
- Man In Space--common Sense Statement
Well, it appears that "common sense" and logic are settling in at NASA. "Space review panel says moon, Mars out of reach" by Irene Klotz August 14th, 2009 Reuters The U.S. plan to return astronauts to the moon by 2020 will not happen without a big boost...