Is Manned Space Flight Necessary?
Human beings are not equipped to survive in a space environment. When people travel in space they have to take not only food and water, but also air, heat, and a capsule of some sort to maintain the air pressure needed to survive. People are highly adaptable, but they can not adapt to zero gravity. In zero G people lose muscle mass and bone density. Also, there is a high level of radiation in space. All of these factors make space travel dangerous. In the last several years much progress has been made in designing computers and robots of a small size. Almost any experiment can be carried out by a robot if it is designed properly. Much of the research done on the International Space Station is about how humans can cope with a space travel environment. None of this research or risk is necessary if humans did not want to travel in space. Space travel is all about publicity. There is no reason man should need to travel in space. The Apollo moon landings had nothing to do with science and e
