On Fri, 23 Jan 2004 07:38:29 -0700, quibbler
wrote:

...... Robots must lead the way.


President Bush agrees. From
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea...0040114-3.html :

".... Robotic missions will serve as trailblazers -- the advanced
guard to the unknown. Probes, landers and other vehicles of this kind
continue to prove their worth, sending spectacular images and vast
amounts of data back to Earth. Yet the human thirst for knowledge
ultimately cannot be satisfied by even the most vivid pictures, or the
most detailed measurements. We need to see and examine and touch for
ourselves. And only human beings are capable of adapting to the
inevitable uncertainties posed by space travel .... "


.... We do science and exploration with unmanned probes ....

President Bush seems to be calling for both.


..... It would be inordinately dangerous with present technology to do any kind
of detailed science with manned missions ....

The reward is that scientists could be on site, doing the research
themselves. They'd have plenty of time given that depending on the
chosen orbit for their vehicle, a Mars mission has to stay either
~30-100 days or ~500 days.


.... People are too fragile to explore
most places ....

You want to be the one to tell the guys at McMurdo Station that
they'll be replaced by robots? After all, it's cold down there!
Better to put robots down there and the scientists can stay at home
where it's safe. Thing that would work? Want to tell archaeologists,
geologists, and researchers in other fields who traditionally do field
research that they should stay home and send robots? Oh, wouldn't
they love to hear that.

.... Even if we sent men to mars we would probably use them to
drive robots around remotely in real time ....

They can do that.

Then can also suit up, get out, and explore on their own.

.... What we need to do is invest
in research and develop our technology. It's obvious that our present
technology is not quite up to the task of serious "exploration" as it is.
Relying upon it for a manned program is crazy.


That's like saying Columbus shouldn't have sailed until jet aircraft
were available, or Lewis and Clark shouldn't have gone on their
expidition until the Ineterstates had been built and off-road vehicles
could be used.

Our technology is more than adequate. The main unknowns are with
regard to living in reduced gravity for a prolonged period and
radiation protection from solar flares.


.... Fortunately, it looks like he [Bush]
will be kicked out on his ass by next year and then he can do whatever
hyperactive nonsense he wants.

Maybe he will; maybe he won't. One week ago, Dr. Dean was the front
runner. I wouldn't call him that now, especially with Walter Mondale
endorsing John Kerry.


Getting back to the whole robot and human thing, we can't expect to just
send one or two probes and then humans. We need to send probe after
probe to look at things in dept .....

Better -- we can send probe after rpobe. Then we can send human
mission after human mission.

..... The money that we spend on the robotics
program will have important spin offs here on earth. Not so with a great
deal of manned space technology, which would primarily be useful only
off-world.


[sarcasm] Yeah, that home RTG I bought at at K-Mart will really help
with my energy bills. Now if only those anti-nuke granolas would get
off my freakin' lawn. [/sarcasm]