Is there any advantage in sending people to explore space rather than robots?
First, the disadvantages: It’s more expensive and limits the scope of the exploration by about a factor of ten. (You can probably send out ten nice unmanned missions for the same cost as every manned one.) And, of course, there is the greater risk to the astronauts’ lives, the farther out we reach. Finally, missions with remote probes can last so much longer than humans would be able to endure. Those are the disadvantages. But there are two advantages of human exploration. First, humans are more versatile and can get things done faster. But most importantly is the thrill and pride that people can feel with such an achievement. It is moving, inspirational. People all over the world get involved. It represents our species at its very finest. The natural human fascination with exploration and discovery has so much more mass appeal when real people are involved. Sometimes this is necessary to keep the dreams alive from one generation to the next, and yes, to stimulate funding as well. Once
