In article ,
says...


"Dean" wrote in message
...

On Sunday, May 19, 2013 11:24:57 PM UTC-4, bob haller wrote:

the apollo stronauts were good astronauts, but not necessarily the

best geologists on earth.



with super high def video, and excellent robotics good science can be

done, without worry abut human contamination

Uh Bob? You do realize they were not on Earth? And they sure were the
BEST geologists on the moon? Hmmm, should they be Selenologists?

Exactly.

And I'd dare say that Jack Schmitt was an excellent geologist as well as the
best Selenogist. Had Apollo lasted longer (and certainly if the AAP had
occurred) the number of scientists on the Moon would have been much higher).

And as it was, the Astronauts who did walk on the Moon were fairly well
trained (given the time they had) as geologists.

This is truth. Having a geologist actually at the site is far superior
to having one in a control room for an unmanned rover whose every move
must be pre-programmed from earth. The ability to "do science" in real-
time on Mars is *not* possible to do remotely. Even if the robotics
tech was better (as Bob seems to think will happen "any day now"), there
is *no* getting around the light speed delay from earth to Mars and
back.

Jeff
--
"the perennial claim that hypersonic airbreathing propulsion would
magically make space launch cheaper is nonsense -- LOX is much cheaper
than advanced airbreathing engines, and so are the tanks to put it in
and the extra thrust to carry it." - Henry Spencer