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The Next Leap In Space Exploration
An anonymous reader writes "The crew of the space shuttle Endeavor recently returned to Earth as ambassadors, harbingers of a new era of space exploration. Scientists at NASA are saying that the recent assembly of the Dextre bot is the first step in a long-term space-based man/machine partnership. '"The work we're doing now -- the robotics we're doing -- is what we're going to need to do to build any work station or habitat structure on the moon or Mars," said Allard Beutel, a spokesman for NASA. "Yes, this is just the beginning." Further joint human-robot projects will "be a symbiotic relationship. It's part of a long-term effort for us to branch out into the solar system. We're going to need this type of hand-in-robotic-hand [effort] to make this happen. We're in the infancy of space exploration. We have to start somewhere and this is as good a place as any."'"
Wouldn't it be cool to launch your robotic servants to Mars long before humans went, and remotely control them (or not) to build the infrastructure for us before we arrive?
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Huey, Dewey and Louie would be proud..
... I'll have a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster with a side of Plutonium Nyborg
Just what do you think you're doing, Dave?
I wonder just how 'closely' together they intend to have us working? *shudder*
The House Between - Original Sci-Fi Series
Yes! With our new robotic workers, which we call "Cylons," we will usher in a new era of peaceful space exploration and colonization.
"Long-term space-based man/machine partnership"? Come on, they installed an assembly robot. Sure, it's a very nice one and pretty complex, but it's not like they fired up freakin R. Daneel Olivaw.
You never really know how close to the edge you can go until you fall off.
The crew of the space shuttle Endeavor recently returned to Earth as ambassadors
Er, no. Sorry.
They assembled and deployed the Ikea version of a semi-autonomous robot. Not even Darl could stretch that into returning as "ambassadors".
The "next leap in space exploration" will happen when we start sending out one-way manned missions. Until then, we've done nothing more than piddle around in the local sandbox and thrown some rocks at pigeons.
....that we don't build any robots that can read lips.
Come on, we been in space since the sixties, and exploring it even before then. Calling this the "infancy of space exploration" is simply inaccurate.
We were a seafaring people for about 6000 years before we discovered some of the islands of the world. Industrialization is in its infancy, we are currently in the pre-history phase of space travel.
As closely as possible?
Project Bring On the Robotic Girls?
No we wouldn't. The problems are deep rooted in various areas aside from inevitable apparent bureaucracy in NASA.
- NASA is VASTLY underfunded, with it's funding being cut on key projects year by year
- Most of the American public don't give a crap about the pre-history of space, such as throwing up robots and plants and 'seeing what happens'. It's hard to gain funding if noone cares.
- The current presidency has no charisma or enthusiasm to push space travel, it is simply not in his interests.
- Space travel is expensive and overall, has very little capitalist pleasing return. When it comes to space, what money you throw up there certainly does not come down. Scientific merit is in hoardes, but it's hard to argue with wall street that it has any merit.
- Some space technology does not follow 'Moores Law' so sometimes progress slows considerably. In some fields such as propulsion we really are waiting for a breakthrough that is not just 'proven on paper'.
- Putting humans in space holds very little merit to many scientists. Even NASA don't want people getting sent up for no good reason.
There's 100 more reasons why we're not living some SciFi dream. I want my space habitat as much as any geek, but I know why I don't have it...
Symbiotic relationship? Man/machine partnership? Ambassadors? Hand-in-robotic-hand? WTF?
It's a fancy toaster, guys, get over yourselves. It's like having a symbiotic relationship with a swiss army knife.
I'd expect this kind of mystical crap from people who don't understand technology and view it all through Clarke's 3rd Law filters ("indistinguishable from magic"), just as any other primitives do when imbuing things they don't understand with mystical spirits. So is Dextre the god of space robotics now? I weep for the NASA that used to be.
-- Alastair
... I feel like it happens quite late, quite slowly, costs too much and still is underfunded. So what you're saying is you'd like early, quick, cheap, and well funded bad moods?Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
". I feel like it happens quite late,"
Is there some sort of galactic timetable only you are aware of? I'm not sure how it is 'late'.
" quite slowly,"
Compared tt other Man/Robotic space missions nobody else is aware of?"
" costs too much"
Compared to...?
"and still is underfunded."
Remember: Fast friendly and free.. no that's not the one...
Fast, inexpensive, High Quality, pick two. That's the one!
Yes, I would love them to get a lot more money, and be able to do more research in any given time frame.
Human/Robot missions is the next logical(to me) step. I would love to see the Robots/Human in space argument end. It's stupid and pointless.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
You seem to forget how steam engines were, 'just a machine' but they changed the world.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
We just need to learn to travel faster than our wake of destruction.
Industrialization is in its infancy only if one makes a straight, one-to-one comparison between time elapsed since the first planted crop with time elasped since the first operational factory. I think that metric is flawed, as it assumes that a year in the 1st or 2d century BC has the same production and innovation value as a year in the 19th or 20th century AD. Industrial processes have brought agriculture as close to maturity as possible considering the variables (quantity of sun and rain, quality of soil). I do agree, however, that we are pre-historic in terms of space travel and are more like the first tribes of humans teaching themselves to knap flint than the tribes which followed them (and taught themselves to grow gardens).
Remote Controlling machines on the Moon would be tough with the 1 second lag. I ran across an article about Japanese researchers experimenting with the simulated lag to an orbiting satellite, but I can't find it right this second. Latencies to Mars are going to be many minutes. To do "remote control" you'd need to be able to give high-level commands, like: "okay, you assemble that wall over there. You help him by fastening the screws. You over there, you pile dirt on the back and sides of the hab module..."
Besides, even if we are responsible for this planet, I think we are doing a much better job with Earth than mother nature has done with any other planet in the system.
There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
Three rules:
One - If a human passenger dies, the AI is automatically shut off via a mechanism the AI doesn't control.
Two - Everyone carries a remote shut off
Three - It's survival must rely on the survival of the human occupants.
Of course, since it turns out HAL couldn't think outside it's programming and take an independant action, I would argue it wasn't an AI.
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We're planet fuckers. It's what we do.
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ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
Aren't robots supposed to be autonomous? From what I understand, Dextre is a cybernetic manipulator. Why do people refuse to distinguish between robots and cyborgs?
Well, then I say many thanks to NASA and its bureaucracy for keeping the moon right where it is! I'm also glad silver mini skirts never really caught on. However, perhaps "dangling-on-strings" advanced spacecraft propulsion warrants further study.
Manned space travel would encourage the next 'big leap'. The one advantage of robotic missions over manned ones that really makes the difference right now is simply mass. The next 'big leap' IMHO is getting off of chemical propulsion, and the weight and mission time requirements for a manned Mars mission rather requires bigger thinking than just using more chemicals. It should hopefully see serious consideration for ion drives powered by something bigger than a battery, something like a nuclear sub reactor. Putting that kind of propulsion system in orbit could allow manned exploration of not only Mars but much more of the solar system as well.
- NASA is VASTLY underfunded, with it's funding being cut on key projects year by year
NASA's budget is around $16 billion dollars, which is more than Jordan's entire GDP and about another 100 countries as well according to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)
We spend more on rockets than entire countries produce in a year. $16 billion dollars is a lot of money no matter how you look at it. I am a geek, and space exploration is good and all, but I think $16 billion is more than enough to spend thanks. Remember, this is not imaginary money, this is your money coming out of YOUR paycheck every month. Personally I would rather see some of that money spent on developing alternative energy technologies. NASA's funding in real dollars is less than its 1966 peak where it had a stated mission of going to the moon and an unstated mission of developing ICBM technology, but NASA is actually receiving funding (in real terms) that is well above its 1980's levels, and on par with most of the 1990's.
Do you realize that NASA has some of the best PR people in the planet? If anyone dares to suggest even a budget increase that is not to their liking, immediately a press release is sent out about how one of the cheaper and most successful missions is "unfortunately going to have to be cut off. budget cuts you know?" If things started getting a little tight in your town's government, is the first thing they turn off the water supply? F no. If your mayor suggested that he would be run out of office and possibly hanged. Nobody even blinks when NASA does this though. NASA plays slashdotters who are supposed to be smarter than that like fiddles.
Next time you read an article about how they have to eliminate the voyager project that only costs about $4million dollar a year and has been running for 20+ years as the probes exit the solar system ask yourself if there are really competent people running the show or maybe they are just saying this to grab some headlines and stir up outrage.