The Future of Manned Space Exploration

[Baron von Sky Hat]

Aldrin : 160 feet, 6-1/2 down - 5-1/2 down, 9 forward. Still looks good. 120 feet.

Aldrin : 100 feet, 3-1/2 down, 9 forward. 5 percent - ...

Armstrong : Okay.

Aldrin: Okay, 75 feet. And it's looking good; down a half. 6 forward; light's on. 6 - 60 feet down, 2-1/2, 2 forward, 2 forward.

Aldrin: Looks good. 40 feet down 2-1/2. Picking up some dust. 30 feet, 2-1/2 down - straight down; 4 forward, 4 forward, drifting to the right a little.

Aldrin: 20 feet, down a half; drifting forward just a little bit. Good. Okay.

Armstrong: Shutdown.

Aldrin: Okay. Engine stop; ACA out of descent.

Armstrong: Out of Descent.

Aldrin: Auto mode control, both auto; Descent engine command override, off; Engine arm, off; 413 is in.

Armstrong: Engine arm is off.

Armstrong: Houston - Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.


That's the transcript prior to (and just after) touchdown of the `Eagle', lunar landing module of the Apollo 11 mission in July 1969 (it and other NASA mission transcripts available at http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/miss...ranscripts.htm).
Definitely a defining moment in space exploration.

It's been a fair while now since we last trod on the cheese-like surface that is the moon. We've been confined to not much further than low earth orbit on the ISS and similar.

But where does manned space exploration go from here?

With the ability to send increasingly advanced robotic probes with bigger and better arrays of scientific equipment, is manned space exploration a sensible course at the moment?

NASA is currently running its `Constellation' Program, with the `Moon, Mars and Beyond' tagline, with the objectives of repeating the moon landings (albeit with better equipment), lunar base and mars landings. Also China continues to pursue a manned space program, with potential long term plans including spacestations, lunar landings and even a lunar base.

But is it worth it all at the moment? Considering NASA alone, such a project as Constellation will cost a lot of money which could otherwise be spent on more direct scientific research, or even something else entirely, depending on your attitude to science.

Personally, I can't decide about the near future specifically. I feel that manned space exploration is something very very much worth doing. And that's not just because I want to live in a moon-house. But I do wonder whether it's worth it right at the moment, when a better plan would be to wait until improvements in technology make going to earth orbit less of an ordeal and the larger nature of any project of getting people up into space or the surface of another world is easier to orchestrate and accomplish. Scientific Satellites and probes being a better investment from the science perspective in the meantime.

Eventually, and one of the things I mean by an easier route for large projects to get to orbit, would be a space elevator (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_elevator for the wiki page with the basic idea), though that's likely a long way off. And that's if materials science can reach the necessary stage for such a construction at all. Would be very cool though, and provide a much cheaper and easier way to lift large cargos than rockets. Possibly.


So, what of future manned space flight?

Is it unnecessary? At least in the near future anyway?
Is it an aspect that can't be left out of space exploration? That we should always be working on something like the ISS or similar, even if it's not a major focus?
Or is it the key aspect to space exploration that can't be done without?

I'd appreciate any thoughts, opinions, facts, discussion, biscuits or considerations that anyone would care to offer on the matter

edit:
In short, should we boldly go and split infinitives where no man has gone and split infinitives before? (Highly unoriginal, I know. But, I felt, necessary...)

[Lord Feloric's Ambassador]

Why is Earthing space technology progressing so slowly? My Lord's spacecraft nearly have the capacity to travel all the way to Earth and he has not been developing his technology nearly as long as you Humans have. I guess it will be my Lord who will have to lead the space race.

To answer your original question, yes manned spacecraft are quite necessary. Robotic drones just don't do the job. If my Lord sent a drone here instead of myself he would know nothing of the real Earth.

[Old_Scratch]

On one hand you have the challenge of manned space flight. "We should do it because we can" view, which will push our technological boundaries and lead to as of yet unknown discoveries in technology and human spaceflight.

On the other hand, manned spaceflight can't do much more than probes can, and unmanned probes can do it much cheaper and safer.

For scientific research, I'd say stick with unmanned spacecraft and orbital telescopes. They can harvest a wealth of data relatively cheaply without danger to humans.

For manned spaceflight, I'd encourage the private sector more, because I don't think people will really start exploring space personally until there is money to be made there.

Or Lord Feloric could help us.

[CtrlAltDe1337]

I would love to see more moon landings, but I think we need to focus on more important areas first. We are running huge deficits as it is, and I can't justify spending more on space exploration that may not pay off for many, many years. Not that our use of money has been much better so far, but still...