New Mars Forums

I think the problem is the misunderstanding of the astronauts role in space. Without human spaceflight Hubble Space Telescope would be a piece of junk with a faulty mirror. Astronauts from HST servicing missions did not make science, but without them, astronomers would have not been able to do it also.

Deployment and service of complex scientific instruments in space require humans. Complex tasks can't be done by robots. Imagine how much information about the universe and other Earth-like planets would give us an array of optical and radio telescopes placed on the opposite side of the Moon. This megastructures can't be kept running without human intervention. Robots are just not smart enough.

Drilling Marsian surface kilometers deep in search for life can't be done by robots only. There are a lot of things in space that only humans can do.

Scientists need humans in space.