Robots Vs Humans: Reducing Costs in Space Exploration

Amitai suggests that space exploration can still occur but at a reduced price. His main point that justifies this statement is “the main costs of space exploration arise from the fact that we are set on sending humans, rather than robots”. Why robots? Well Amitai suggests that the reason why space exploration is at such a high cost is because humans require much more assistance than robots. Amitai explains how humans need to come back to earth so transportation is needed and this is not cheap. The average cost of a rocket launch to space equates to around $1.5 billion and it is very similar for a return trip as well. Furthermore, he states that space vehicles must be safe for humans but we can risk a few robots without worrying. Robots can
Steven calls manned missions ‘an incredible waste of money’ and argues that “for the cost of putting a few people on a very limited set of locations on Mars we could have dozens of unmanned, robotic missions roving all over Mars”. This quotation suggests that space exploration is a waste of money as of now but he is also stating that countries can use their money more efficiently if they allow robots rather than humans to enter space. This would then allow many people to adjust their perspective on the matter and realise that space exploration may not be a waste of
This is because it includes different viewpoints from different people increasing its reliability. The article was also published on CNN, an American news channel, which means that the information provided is fairly accurate. He also exclaims that space exploration can still be efficient if the money is used wisely. This elucidates how he is not biased and is neutral about the situation because he has not chosen a side. However, the argument has a number of flaws which damage its credibility. Firstly, there is no real evidence that robots are cheaper to maintain in space compared to humans. This is because there is no statistical information to justify this point. Amitai Etzioni is also a sociologist, someone who studies the society and social behaviour, resulting in him having no real experience in this topic further reducing the reliability of his article because of his lack of expertise on this topic.
Ron Garan, a fighter pilot and astronaut, wrote an article explaining how space exploration can benefit the planet by helping solve problems in developing countries. He strongly believes that space exploration is vital as it allows us to interact with new things and it also helps people overcome challenging