Space Travels : Human Vs. Robotic Space Exploration

Scientific Capability.” (Tennessean) People today are not as excited about going to other places in space. Human space travel has been stunted by recent political changes in America. With that, the people that actually want to go to other places in space mainly want to see humans go somewhere new. Some people want other things to go in place of humans. “Unlike robots, only people have the intelligence and expert knowledge needed to unravel these mysteries.” (Mindell) If humans don’t go to other places in the solar system, this takes away the experience and awe of knowing that people can go to amazing places like the moon and Mars. While I think robots and technology should be used in exploration of space. I think it’s important to keep the human element involved directly. So people can see that nothing is quite impossible.

As humans, we are born with a natural desire to learn and discover. With space exploration, we are able to do just that. In an online essay called “Is Space Exploration Worth the Cost”, Dr. Joan Vernikos,

It is not true that human space travel is cheaper in any sense; life support systems, places to sleep and work, manual control systems all take up room, and most importantly, cost fuel. However, when it comes to planetary exploration, humans can get the job done better. They adapt to the situations they’re put into. A robot can only do everything it was told it was supposed to do, but programmer bound to the Earth will only think to program so many things, even if they are very thorough. Robots movements encompass a narrow set of navigable terrains whereas a human with mobility equipment can explore much further to garner samples or collect data (Crawford). A human can also think on their feet, which is essential in many mission scenarios. Far from the earth, where communication is severely limited by the distances involved, robots lag the humans watching. Events that occur for only a few minutes, like storms and novel hazards like rockslides or avalanches, may be completely missed by a rover and can even compromise the mission. When delay inhibits data collection and the safety of crucial components, this is where on-site humans can shine. Specifically, Crawford (2010) outlines five areas where human travel is necessary, which for brevity has been condensed into four. The focus is mainly on why humans are essential for these types of missions.

Three main clusters that are developed under this idea of space exploration is the benefits that are gained, ethical code and what it means with regard to the future of the human race. In this paper I will talk about what major projects are being worked on and who will benefit from these. This will also include what laws of space are and ethical code. This will also identify the differing viewpoints on space exploration and whether the big picture is worth the small steps being taken as to advancements in space technology and sciences.

The Space Race was a time of great exploration, and created many new techniques in the studies of science and technology. Many new techniques of engineering and technological advances resulted as positives of the Space Race. The cause of this great exploration and learning was fueled by rivalry and competitiveness of two governments, the Soviet Union and The United States. The Soviet Union and the United States were in a race to see which could reach space supremacy first. This rivalry unfolded in front of millions of spectators, and instilled a sense of competiveness into the viewers. During the mid nineteen-sixties, the achievements of the United States space program caused them to leap ahead of the Soviet Union space program, which was very unexpected. The achievements by the United States during the Space Race in the nineteen-sixties created a gap in space exploration between the Soviet Union space program and the United States space program because the United States was able extremely motivated by government forces and was able to achieve great technological advances in their space crafts.

Is is worth risking lives to explore the unknown during high risk missions? From 1967 to 2003, NASA had 3 disasters, resulting in the death of 17 people (one being a citizen). When confronted with the restraints that space programs have when studying certain topics in space, safety should be a number one priority. It is ethically wrong to send astronauts into space, without informing them of the risks of their mission. NASA should also weigh the risks of the mission with the anticipated outcome to decide if it ethically acceptable to go through the mission at all.

It is the year of 2050; earth’s resources are dwindling. As the population increases, society is panicking as to how they are supposed to survive on earth, being that their pure existence has consumed almost all of the necessities to live on the planet. Now the question is, what do they do now? We have been in search of a habitable planet to live on. Robotic missions will be key to researching, gathering data, and figuring out if life on another planet is a plausible option. Radiation exposure and the weather in space are big concerns as to if the human race will be able to even establish planet that is safe to inhabit. Will the human race survive?

Humans have dreamed of leaving the earth and traveling space for many years, and up to this day they have taken many steps in the right direction. Yet, with every new frontier they approach, new problems loom over the horizon. Some of these problems arise right here on Earth. Some of the issues have been resolved, such as escaping the forces of gravity to reach outer space. Most of the problems are far more arduous and the solutions need more time to be worked out properly. In “The Coming Schism” by James E. and Alcestis R. Oberg, they posit that humans can colonize space. Humans need to buckle up and build the technology which will help to solve problems that would arise to

Nevertheless, If NASA were to cut back on sending humans and instead send robots, they could save bundles of cash, and possibly, in some cases, lives (Etzioni, Amitai). Because of the vast expanses of space and the mystery that it contains, along with the action-packed movies made about space that captivate America even beyond their opening weekends, such as Star Wars, BattleStar Galactica, the humorous Space Balls, etc, and the simple fear of not knowing what, or who, is or is not out there, every person has some amount of curiosity in them in regard to the dark skies surrounding our earth. It is simply human nature to want to discover the unknown (Boucher, Marc p.2).

The first reason exploration is worth the risk is medical research. Medical research is very important and John F. Kennedy couldn’t have explained it better. Stated in Remarks at the Dedication of the Aerospace Medical Health Center “Examinations of the astronaut’s physical, and mental, and emotional reactions can teach us more about the differences between normal and abnormal.” This evidence shows that space exploration could help us tell the difference between normal and anomalous. Another thing that Kennedy greatly stated in Remarks at the Dedication of the Aerospace Medical Health Center was “About the causes and effects of disorientation, about changes in metabolism which could result in extending the life span.” So this evidence shows that space exploration could help us extending the human

The NASA space program has had enormous impacts on the world. Thanks to NASA the United States has explored thousands of celestial bodies throughout the galaxy with telescopes, rovers, and in the moon 's case, people. In the next decade, NASA plans to expand the United State’s human exploration to more than just the moon. A Mars mission has been in NASA’s eye for quite a while now and with technology advancing every day, they feel it is time to send men and women to the red planet. Some believe the journey could prove too dangerous for humans; however, through research and development scientists can find ways to safely transport astronauts to and from Mars. This is a necessary step in the country 's advancements in health, technology and

Humans and other species navigate by determining their current position and planning a course to a desired goal. Navigation normally occurs in the 1-g environments experienced on Earth, but a new environment was added as the Soviet Union and the United States competed for supremacy during the space race of the mid 20th century. Outer space posed many new problems, including the challenge of navigating in microgravity. The first human in space was Soviet pilot and cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in 1961, but the first reports of gravity-related problems surfaced with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Apollo program during the 1960s and 70s (Homick, Lyndon, & Miller, 1975). With current plans for expanded space exploration, it

As humans, we always push to explore for new discoveries, it is in our blood to explore and push scientific boundaries. Space exploration has allowed us to expand our technology, foster a curiosity in humans, discover new worlds, and most importantly push even further to discover life in a new planet. With the advancement of new technology and innovators, there has been a significant discussion whether sending humans with the support of robots is the most efficient method. However, there are great arguments made that sending exclusively robots on space exploration is the best strategy. There is

In the year 2048 a segment of the United States population (about four million people) attempted to overthrow the government through acts of terrorism. The US government was able to stop the threat, but now they have four million people to deal with. In response a decision was made to send these people to Mars to start a colony. To do this advancements were made in nuclear power to propel the shuttles to Mars, and also technology was developed to allow for humans to survive on Mars for an indefinite amount of time.

For past decades of space exploration, radiation had been extremely dangerous and troublesome for the astronauts and engineers. Since excessive amounts of radiation are highly lethal, it is questioned if it is ever possible to place astronauts on the inhabitable terrain of Mars. However, in the modern world of technology, engineers at NASA Langley Research Center have been working in collaboration for the Radworks project to build protective habitats to help mitigate the issues of radiation, especially solar radiation from solar flares. Prototypes that were built became the potential blueprints of the human safe houses on Mars for more life threatening events such as a solar particle event that usually last around two days. In addition, the