I don't see why it would be impossible to instruct robots on how to look for fossils. Given the advances in camera technology, extremely high resolution photographs could be taken and transmitted. And most fossils aren't dug for (or at least not very deeply) - they are found at or near the surface, often having been exposed by erosion or land slippage. You also make the point that no humans will be going to Mars in the next few decades. Who knows what the advances in computer tech will be by then?
$55 billion over 10 years sounds like a bargain. But how much more could be done robotically for the same money over the same period? My guess is 'quite a lot' (Opportunity's total cost was about $400 million over 15 years). If the $55 billion dollar figure is reasonable, that's the equivalent of just over two hundred Opportunity-type landers.
If we send robots to Mars in preparation for humans, why not just have the robots do what the humans would?
I don't doubt that there are daring and intrepid people who would want to make the trip, no matter the risk. But given the cost factors and the abilities latent in remote robotic technology, there's no need for it.
The only reason to send human beings to Mars is to be able to boast that we sent human beings to Mars.
Boru
$55 billion over 10 years sounds like a bargain. But how much more could be done robotically for the same money over the same period? My guess is 'quite a lot' (Opportunity's total cost was about $400 million over 15 years). If the $55 billion dollar figure is reasonable, that's the equivalent of just over two hundred Opportunity-type landers.
If we send robots to Mars in preparation for humans, why not just have the robots do what the humans would?
I don't doubt that there are daring and intrepid people who would want to make the trip, no matter the risk. But given the cost factors and the abilities latent in remote robotic technology, there's no need for it.
The only reason to send human beings to Mars is to be able to boast that we sent human beings to Mars.
Boru
‘But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods or no gods. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.’ - Thomas Jefferson
