re: #62 Kosh’s Shadow

The one thing a human can do that these machines can’t is to change the experiments.
If we had people and a lab on Mars, the Viking lander’s ambiguous results would no longer be ambiguous.

And the other reason is to go there. Space is not just for research; we need to expand there as well.

Finally, I ask people who think robotic exploration is sufficient, if they’re willing to take their next vacation by controlling a robot over the web at their destination.

I don’t think it’s sufficient, either. But it’s important to keep the costs in mind along the way. Right now, we’re in the exploratory phase when it comes to the solar system, and we can accomplish much more in terms of surveying the road ahead with unmanned missions. They’re necessary pathfinders for eventual human exploration.

Not sure I agree about Viking. You’re still limited by what you send along, but more importantly, if you’re there looking for evidence of life, the presence of humans will inevitably contaminate the site, making it difficult or even impossible to sort out any results. With unmanned craft, the multi-month exposure to intense radiation, along with pre-flight sanitation, is more than sufficient to ensure against such problems.

Not that I have a problem with manned flights to Mars at this point. It’s apparent to me that Mars is dead, so contamination isn’t really a concern. At best, we might get lucky and find some fossils, but my gut feeling is that there’s no life there now and there never has been.