Outline and Research log

1) Scientific Quality

• Robotic probes are able to carry and perform scientific instruments that would be

too sensitive to use on a manned ship – people are noisy.

Example: The Hubble Space Telescope.

• Robots can spend years exploring a planet, providing far more detailed

information than a human mission could.

• Robots can also be made sterile, eliminating the risk of introducing Earth

microorganisms to another planet – ruining search for extraterrestrial life.

Example: The mars rovers.

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2) Human Risk

• Space is hostile environment: Gamma radiation, electromagnetic fields, mini

asteroid collisions. Need a large, heavily fortified space craft to keep astronauts

safe. Weightlessness causes muscle atrophy – need artificial gravity.

Example: Apollo 13 mission.

• Humans need a lot: Most of ship devoted to keeping humans alive with air,

warmth, food, water, waste disposal. Missions to close planets like Mars would

take years each way – humans have difficulty with monotony and isolation. They

also can get sick, with no access to a hospital.

Example Apollo missions.

• Catastrophic loss: The risk of the loss of an astronaut crew is greater the longer

the mission. Ship malfunctions, crew errors, damage to ship from collisions –

even microscopic ones, could kill the crew and end the mission. The

social/political fallout from even one mission catastrophe could scuttle the entire

program for years.

Example: Apollo 13, Space Shuttle Challenger & Columbia.

• Robots present none of these problems:

• They are impervious to radiation, or temperature extremes in space or on a planet.

• They can run on solar energy, and be 90% devoted to scientific instruments. They

need no food, water or air.

• Robotic ships are cheaper to send, so several can be sent at the same time, so if

one is destroyed, the mission can continue.

• The loss of a robotic probe would not have significant social/political impact,

particularly if there are multiple craft.

• Robots don’t get lonely, get muscle atrophy, or need mental stimulation. Its easy

for them to remain dormant for several years during interplanetary travel.

Example: The Mars Rovers, Cassini-Huygens spacecraft, Messenger (Mercury) mission.

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3) Cost

• It costs a lot to send people: The Apollo 11 moon landing mission alone cost

over a billion (1969) dollars to achieve, which today would cost close to $1

trillion. The first Skylab mission cost $7 billion.

• The Mars rover mission cost $2 billion for two spacecraft who have now been

gathering information on Mars for several years.

• Robots travel cheap: Robotic ships are almost entirely devoted to scientific

experiments, and have no need of atmosphere, food etc.

• Point of No Return: When sending humans to explore space, the mission must

always consist of double supplies, fuel etc. for the journey to the goal and then

back to Earth again. Robotic ships do not need to return to Earth, and can work

on site until they fail.

Example: The Mars Rovers, Cassini-Huygens spacecraft, Messenger (Mercury)

mission.

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