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0 pointsdigikata14y ago0 comments

The reward of human exploration is impossible to quantify. You may as well ask what is the risk reward for basic research, philosophy, religion, or art.

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nate_meurer14y ago

I agree, except for the fact that in the field of space exploration humans can now be largely substituted by machines, and will be more so as our machines advance.

Philosophy and art do indeed require lots of human intervention. Thankfully, they are cheap, as is much of the basic science research that we should be prioritizing ahead of, say, super sexy space stations.

mitchty14y ago

But if we do just robotic exploration, we miss out on the unintended side effects of putting people in space.

Kidney dialysis machines for example. And basic research on bone loss which has been a huge help for Osteoperosis patients.

I think the issue here isn't that we know that putting humans in space is expensive, it is, in time as well as resources. I think the issue is that if we don't put humans in space we'll never know what advances we could have made by doing it.

nate_meurer14y ago

Granted, but I'm not sure that the progress that can be attributed specifically to the presence of humans in space has been worth the expense.

Your two examples are instructive. I guarantee you that these medical advances would have been made in the absence of a space program. It's not a matter of if, but when. The best that be said about the scientific contribution of human bodies in orbit is that it has provided some acceleration of progress -- I know of no evidence to the contrary.

The crucial question is, what are we willing to pay for that acceleration?

digikataOP14y ago

For my part, I feel that space robots supplement the exploration efforts, but are a poor substitute.

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nate_meurer14y ago

I agree, except for the fact that in the field of space exploration humans can now be largely substituted by machines, and will be more so as our machines advance.

mitchty14y ago

But if we do just robotic exploration, we miss out on the unintended side effects of putting people in space.

Kidney dialysis machines for example. And basic research on bone loss which has been a huge help for Osteoperosis patients.

nate_meurer14y ago

Granted, but I'm not sure that the progress that can be attributed specifically to the presence of humans in space has been worth the expense.

The crucial question is, what are we willing to pay for that acceleration?

digikataOP14y ago

For my part, I feel that space robots supplement the exploration efforts, but are a poor substitute.

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