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I don't see how it would be cheaper to send a human to the Moon to retrieve samples than it would be to send a robot.

• ticmasta 7y ago
  and that's really just the cost the actual mission. Consider the impact of having to prepare a program that meets acceptable risk levels for humans vs. machines. This is a huge consideration. I'm not suggesting unmanned exploration can take a trial and error approach, but losing a robot is sad & expensive while losing a human astronaut can terminate the entire program.
• avmich 7y ago
  Some arguments are here: https://phys.org/news/2005-11-unmanned-space-exploration_1.html https://phys.org/news/2005-11-unmanned-space-exploration_1.h... Retrieving a sample is cheaper with a robot - Luna-24 costed a fraction of Apollo. Knowing what to retrieve while having flexibility of choosing surface regolith, separate rock, samples dug out from a better place or else - that's where humans win.
  • mopsi 7y ago
    Indeed. Apollo 17 even flew an actual geologist to the surface of the Moon and gave him 20 hours to explore it.
  • deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]