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To play devil's advocate, the only purpose astronauts serve is PR. Anything that can be done is space could be done cheaper and better with automation/rovers. S
by 05 1y ago
To play devil's advocate, the only purpose astronauts serve is PR. Anything that can be done is space could be done cheaper and better with automation/rovers. So it seems that having those astronauts risk their lives for a short term political win is just table stakes, because the alternative for them is to stay on Earth and maybe pay $100K for just an hour in orbit with any of the commercial space tourism companies.
- WalterBright 1y agoAutomation still cannot pick a strawberry.
- genewitch 1y agono strawberries in space
- 05 1y agoIt can't cost effectively pick a strawberry when compared to underpaid workers. It can definitely pick a strawberry cheaper when you take cost of lifting oxygen up from a gravity well into account. And with Moon 'ping' time of 2.6 seconds RTT, direct teleoperation is always an option.
- WalterBright 1y agoCost effectiveness matters, even when cost is no object.
- ramblenode 1y agoI bet it could be done if even a fraction of the Artemis budget were devoted to it.