3 ms·

I don't understand how robots could do a better job than humans at the job of 'being a human walking around on the moon'

TallGuyShort 13y ago
What's the point of being a human walking around the moon? If you can do what you need to do with a robot it's a much safer and less expensive option. Much of the reason for sending humans to the moon was as a politically motivated show of technological superiority. Sending a robot to collect soil samples, perform a experiments, and then rocket the results back to Earth was the approach preferred by many of the engineers and scientists working on Apollo. Sending men who would "fly" the spacecraft was a less scientific decision.
- a3n 13y ago
  "What's the point of being a human walking around the moon?" The exact same thing as you walking around your neighborhood. Why not just send a little RC car with a camera? We exist in the universe, and it' as large or small as we make it. I like big.
  - throwaway_yy2Di 13y ago
    They should have sent a poet... then we'd have one poet less.
    - a3n 13y ago
      Really? We have too many poets?
- ehutch79 13y ago
  Because at this point in time, walking around in another gravity well is kind of bad-ass. If all you want is soil samples, definitely send the robot. But if you want to be bad-ass, send some humans.
- tunap 13y ago
  "What's the point of being a human walking around the moon?" "Much of the reason for sending humans to the moon was as a politically motivated show of technological superiority." Haha, you answered your own question. Sending a "probe" would not one-up China's Jade Rabbit. Frankly, I welcome another "Race" rather than another "War On...". China is ramping up and the US cannot keep their edge by standing idle or privatizing cosmic exploration, IMO.
bane 13y ago
I'm of the opinion that sending frail probes to take grainy pictures and scrape rocks to get small samples for limited onboard labs would do far less science in a year then six guys with shovels and a pocket camera in a month.

TallGuyShort 13y ago

What's the point of being a human walking around the moon? If you can do what you need to do with a robot it's a much safer and less expensive option. Much of the reason for sending humans to the moon was as a politically motivated show of technological superiority. Sending a robot to collect soil samples, perform a experiments, and then rocket the results back to Earth was the approach preferred by many of the engineers and scientists working on Apollo. Sending men who would "fly" the spacecraft was a less scientific decision.

a3n 13y ago
"What's the point of being a human walking around the moon?" The exact same thing as you walking around your neighborhood. Why not just send a little RC car with a camera? We exist in the universe, and it' as large or small as we make it. I like big.
- throwaway_yy2Di 13y ago
  They should have sent a poet... then we'd have one poet less.
  - a3n 13y ago
    Really? We have too many poets?
ehutch79 13y ago
Because at this point in time, walking around in another gravity well is kind of bad-ass. If all you want is soil samples, definitely send the robot. But if you want to be bad-ass, send some humans.
tunap 13y ago
"What's the point of being a human walking around the moon?" "Much of the reason for sending humans to the moon was as a politically motivated show of technological superiority." Haha, you answered your own question. Sending a "probe" would not one-up China's Jade Rabbit. Frankly, I welcome another "Race" rather than another "War On...". China is ramping up and the US cannot keep their edge by standing idle or privatizing cosmic exploration, IMO.

bane 13y ago

I'm of the opinion that sending frail probes to take grainy pictures and scrape rocks to get small samples for limited onboard labs would do far less science in a year then six guys with shovels and a pocket camera in a month.