Humans and Robots II

I first realized I had an opinion about whether humans or robots should explore space was when the Obama Administration cancelled the Constellation program. I realized then, and no offense to anyone whose job was affected by this decision, that it was appropriate to put the breaks on the human spaceflight program until further progress was made in the field, and that exploring the solar system with probes is the perfect solution for now. Even at that time I was not for exclusive exploration with robots, but rather for using machines in places where humans cannot yet go in preparation for when they will eventually be ready for deep space travel.

The main reason I was completely dedicated the robotic exploration was the outstanding discoveries that our probes have brought in the past two decades. We have learned so much about our neighborhood, and we have discovered for the first time the real vastness of the universe and many of its secrets. While our presence in the solar system is still scarce, with the very few probes that visited Mars, Jupiter and Saturn we came very close to realizing the potential of life all over the place. Just couple of days ago the existence of a liquid water ocean on Europa has been confirmed from the analysis of data sent by Galileo. Not to mention how the Hubble Telescope has completely changed our perspective about the universe. “The greatest explorer today is not even human. It’s the Hubble Space Telescope, which for nearly two decades has offered us all a mind-expanding window to the cosmos”. [1]

But I am a firm believer human should explore space by themselves and not completely rely on robots. “Exploration is inherent to humankind… and it makes us human”. [2] Thirst for knowledge is one of the main characteristics of the species. Space exploration is a process expanding the human knowledge and its range of action. [3] Human space flight has both and immediate and long-term importance. Direct exploration offers closer insights, familiarizing the human species with living in space, and it is likely to provide further survival on other celestial bodies when planet Earth will be no longer suited for human habitation.

Reading chapter 3 in Robots in Space did not really change my ideas, but made me think further about the mid-20^th century when enthusiastic individuals set the foundation of the space age. In the Disney movie Man and the Moon, a whole section is dedicated to Werner von Braun’s fascinating ideas about how man could reach the moon. While watching his presentation I observed myself sliding towards a feeling that this video was recent, and not at all belonging to the fifties. Von Braun’s ideas sounded as if they were taken from Star Trek. I later read in chapter 3 that one reason his fantastic space station could not be accomplished was the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belts. No reason to blame Van Allen for his strong advocacy against human spaceflight after all J But indeed, if I were living in the fifties and watch Von Braun’s presentation I would have not even consider robots. His space station looked more like a building in the city center, having all departments needed to run the show, including gravitation. No wonder such a fantastic idea had a strong impact on the humans vs. robots debate at the beginning of the space age. Who needs robots when humans could live in space just as well as on Earth?

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Notes

[1] Tyson, Neil deGrasse. “Why America Needs to Explore Space”. Parade Magazine. August 5, 2007. http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/read/2007/08/05/why-america-needs-to-explore-space (accessed November 22, 2011), para. 10.

[2] Dordain, Jean-Jacques. “Space exploration in the 21st Century: Global opportunities and challenges”. http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oce/appel/ask/issues/38/38i_space.html (accessed November 22, 2011), 2.

[3] Ibid, 2.

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References

Dordain, Jean-Jacques. “Space exploration in the 21st Century: Global opportunities and challenges”. NASA Project Management Challenge 9 Feb 2010. http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oce/appel/ask/issues/38/38i_space.html (accessed November 22, 2011)

Tyson, Neil deGrasse. “Why America Needs to Explore Space”. Parade Magazine. August 5, 2007. http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/read/2007/08/05/why-america-needs-to-explore-space (accessed November 22, 2011).

Image source: http://www.lns.cornell.edu/~seb/celestia/b-vb/images/across_03.jpg

Video Source:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1urigkMtAw&feature=related