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Old 09-16-2005, 10:52 AM   #19
troutman
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But I don't know if I'd believe a human can do the things in space that a robot can. . . . . not now.

It depends on the mission. For some tasks (ex. geology), Humans are far more useful. Consider the Mars Exploration Rovers. These robots have done amazing work, far surpassing NASA's wildest dreams. Spirit has been on Mars for about 600 martian days, but has only travelled 3 miles. A human explorer is far more flexible.

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html

Will a robot send back a report like that, a report that would place you in the shoes of the person there? Of course not.

There has been serious talk about sending poets and artists with the scientists, to describe to mankind the significance of the experience.
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