WHY send astronauts to other worlds? After all, some would argue that robots are far better suited to the extremes of space. Automated probes offer a cheaper and safer way to explore the solar system, they say – just look at the success of NASA’s Mars Rovers and the Huygens probe on Titan. Such missions justify their expense by the boost they provide to human knowledge.
By contrast, proponents of human exploration invoke a more romantic argument: the human spirit’s desire to tread new land, see new sights or climb virgin peaks, simply “because they are there”. Yet there is a…
