The Case for Robotic Space Exploration
In a dispassionate comparison of the relative values of human and robotic spaceflight, the only surviving motivation for continuing human spaceflight is the ideology of adventure. But only a tiny number of Earth's six billion inhabitants are direct participants. For the rest of us, the adventure is vicarious and akin to that of watching a science fiction movie. At the end of the day, I ask myself whether the huge national commitment of technical talent to human spaceflight and the ever-present potential for the loss of precious human life are really justifiable.
Notes:
Only a tiny percentage of Earthlings get to go into space, for the rest of us it's a vicarious experience.
Folksonomies: space exploration robotics space flight
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Is Human Spaceflight Obsolete?