Lileks (James) on Columbia

[Theophylact]

An excerpt, very lightly edited:

NPR had an interview with one of those people who think we should not send people into space, but rely entirely on robots. As I pulled into the parking lot at the mall he casually asked “what can a man do on Mars that a robot cannot?”

PLANT A F***ING FLAG ON THE PLANET, I shouted at the radio. Pardon my language. But. On a day when seven brave people died while fulfilling their brightest ambitions, this was the wrong day to suggest we all stay tethered to the dirt until the sun grows cold. Are we less than the men who left safe harbors and shouldered through cold oceans? After all, they sailed into the void; we can look up at the night sky and point at where we want to go. There: that bright white orb. We’re going. There: that red coal burning on the horizon. We’re going. And we’re not sending smart toys on our behalf - we’re sending human beings, and one of them will put his boot on the sand and bring the number of worlds we’ve visited to three. And when he plants the flag he will use flesh and sinew and blood and bone to drive it into the ground. His heartbeat will hammer in his ears; his mind will spin a kaleidoscopic medley of all the things he’d thought he’d think at this moment, and he'll grin: I had it wrong. I had no idea what it would truly be like. He’d imagined this moment as oddly private; he'd thought of himself, the red land, the flag in his hand, and he heard music, as though the moment would be fully scored when it happened. But there isn't any music; there's the sound of his breath and the thrum of his pulse. It seems like everyone who ever lived is standing behind him at the other end of a vast dark auditorium, waiting for the flag to stand on the ground of Mars. Then he will say something. He might stumble on a word or two, because he’s only human.

But look what humans have done. Again.

http://www.lileks.com

[M_Six]

If the purpose of space exploration is to someday inhabit another world, then using robots instead of humans is counter-productive. Sure, one or two unmanned vehicles to start is ok, but the short-term goal should be human visitation. Only then will we begin to understand what truly needs to be done in order to reach the ultimate goal of interplanetary habitation.

Along those lines I have often felt that the space station itself is somewhat counter-productive. Why not build a large base station on the moon and develop lunar resources? At least that way we're working towards true migration onto other planets. I believe the space station could be used as a "bus stop" where travellers would arrive by shuttle aircraft and then transfer to an interplanetary craft for transport to the moon. The opposite would occur on the way home. Two vehicles, each suited to its purpose.

[Theophylact]

Tony Auth's take:

[Knothead]

Very cool! Worth reading.

[Epidemic]

I like it!!!

Dam that is two times in a month we have agreed. Dag nab it.