Should NASA replace human exploration with sophisticated robots
... The United States’ exploration of space will most likely continue, but the tragedy has led to the debate whether manned space flight is really worth the risk. The fact is that robotic exploration has a safe position in exploring new frontiers. However, to replace human exploration with sophisticated robots, partially or completely, would decrease the rate of technological advancement and the meanings of conquering the universe. Firstly, human space flight causes us to push the technological development. The reason why it does is because human life is precious, so we do everything we can to make space flight safer. Specifically, we should know what the medical and scientific evidence is about how the human body survives in space. ... NASA is developing high-priority technologies for 2nd Generation RLV that will reduce the risk of crew loss. ... Beyond 2nd Generation RLVs, NASA is maturing technologies for 3rd Generation spaceships that will make space transportation as safe, reliable and affordable as today’s airline travel. ... Human space flight not only is the shining symbol of the technological capability, but it also has a more practical side. The advantages of a human presence are therefore readily apparently when flexibility and creativity are needed. ... Besides, human flexibility also helps with actual scientific work. ... Moreover, humans can adapt to the unknown but robots can’t. What robots do is look for things that we expected to see and send it back. ... And despite the decision-making and “intelligent” capabilities of these robots, their intelligence still does not compare to that of human mind.