Robots and
humans always seem to end up at odds, whether it's battling over pieces of
NASA's budget or literally fighting in science fiction stories such as "The
Matrix" and "Battlestar Galactica."
Now a
former NASA historian and an American University professor suggest that the
future of space exploration could very well depend on a merging of metal and
flesh.
Their new
book "Robots in Space" (2008, The Johns Hopkins University Press) looks
at the competing visions for robotic vs. human space exploration, and concludes
that neither will get far beyond the solar system without one another.
That means
humans may need to draw from the Sci-Fi realm yet again and morph into
something new, like a cyborg, to head for distant stars.
What's
lacking
Human
efforts dominated early space exploration because machines simply lacked the
brainpower. Even Arthur C. Clarke, the visionary science fiction author who died recently,
first imagined a network of geosynchrous communications satellites as space
stations with human operators onboard.
German
scientist and American space pioneer Wernher Von Braun drew support for human
spaceflight from the Cold War rivalry and from pioneering themes of the
American West. The public imagination was fired up by early speculation that
planets such as Venus and Mars harbored Earth-like conditions for life —
something that robotic explorers later found to be untrue.
"We
were certainly interested in the fact that none of the spaceflight godfathers
who talked about flying in space really focused on the robotics side,"
said Roger Launius, National Air and Space Museum senior curator and co-author
of "Robots in Space."
Robotic
capabilities gradually improved and allowed cheaper robotic missions to make
long journeys to the outer planets. At the same time, near-Earth human programs
such as the space shuttle and International Space Station racked up billions of
dollars in unanticipated costs.
Many
scientists now support robotic missions as cheaper alternatives to human
missions, but human spaceflight advocates still dream of returning people to
the moon and perhaps even going to Mars.
However,
support for the dream of human spaceflight has fallen away with the end of the
Cold War and the pioneering American West receding into historical memory. That
leaves a gap in the public imagination that robotics has yet to fill.
"The
lack of a compelling story associated with robotic spaceflight means that side
of the equation has not been developed as well as the human side," Launius
said.
Suicide
missions
Launius and
co-author Howard McCurdy of American University argue that NASA needs to take a
hard look at its real goals in space exploration. Among five major reasons they
list to go into space — including scientific discovery, commercial
applications, national security, geopolitical prestige, and survival of the
species — only the last absolutely requires humans.
That blunt
assessment is unintentionally echoed by the artificial intelligence Agent Smith
of "The Matrix," who sneers "Never send a human to do a
machine's job." Smith may have a point despite his villainous nature, as
robots increasingly become cheaper and safer proxies for humans on dangerous
space missions.
"Nobody
told Spirit and Opportunity [Mars Rovers] that they're on a
suicide mission," Launius said. "If the objective is science, that's
all well and good."
Human
spaceflight advocates who want to see people get off Earth have a legitimate
cause, according to the authors, but need to openly discuss that rationale
instead of masking it.
"If
objective is to become multi-planetary species, then we have to fly
people," Launius noted. "I wish we were a bit more honest about that."
Funding
human spaceflight based on survival of the species would be a hard sell,
though, and may just get harder. Several national and online surveys have shown
a trend where 18-24 year-olds largely oppose sending humans to Mars, citing
reasons such as "too far and too much money" and the risks to
astronauts.
On the
other hand, many young adults express more enthusiasm over robotic missions to
Mars, such as the Spirit and Opportunity rovers.
"What
we find is that young people seem to be able to relate much more easily to
robotic missions, and therefore get more excited about them," said Mary
Lynne Dittmar, President and CEO of Dittmar Associates, Inc., who conducted some
surveys.
Reality
check
Perhaps the
only thing that can inspire fresh zeal for space exploration comes from finding
new
Earth-like planets around other stars, according to Launius and McCurdy.
However,
humans and robots can't even attempt an interstellar journey yet. Robots lack
the mental power and flexibility to conduct distant missions far from human
handlers, while humans remain vulnerable to the effects of space radiation,
aging, and other physical hazards in space travel.
A solution
may arise from the vision of futurists such as Ray Kurzweil,
who sees humans and robots eventually merging to combine the best traits of
both. That's not entirely a fantasy.
"In
the process of enhancing yourself technologically, you've become a cyborg,"
Launius said, listing glasses, hearing aids, pacemakers, and hip replacements
as examples of technological aids people use daily. Launius and McCurdy also
point out that NASA conducted studies on cyborg technologies in the 1960s.
The idea of
human-robot hybrids is popular in science fiction, and most recently in the
critically acclaimed show "Battlestar Galactica." The show depicts
humans fighting for survival against robot-like Cylons, but also examines what
happens when certain Cylon models have biological parts and appear human.
"The
humans in the show view the Cylons as machines and not entities which they
should have any compassion or concern for," Launius observed. That allows
the humans to justify killing or torturing Cylons, although the line between
human and Cylon has become blurred as the show enters its fourth and final
season.
So the real
question may not be if humanity reaches for the stars, but what it needs to
become to do so.
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