Are Manned Missions Essential to the Exploration of Mars?

An article posted by the AFP yesterday discussed how the United States has pledged to send astronauts to the red planet by 2020. However, many scientists agree that this is an unnecessary risk that was essential to the past, not the future. Aerospace technology has advanced tremendously since NASA sent men to the moon in the past. Robots and satellites can do just as good of a job, without the potential for stranding humans millions of miles away from Earth. "Apollo gave us a false sense of security, it showed us what could be done," commented Doug Millard, space curator of the Science Museum in London. "But all we have managed to do since then -- no matter how magnificent it might be -- is to send humans round and round in orbit around Earth." However, the head of NASA Michael Griffin believes the contrary to be true: "We are looking at the moon and Mars to build a civilisation for tomorrow and after that." Steve Squyres, astronomy professor from Cornell University and principal investigator of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission agrees with Griffin, "We are many decades from robots that can match humans, even in the lab, and laboratory robotics is about 20 years ahead of space robotics." Griffin predicts without a shadow of a doubt that there will be human footprints on Mars by 2037. However, Millard says that he will be surprised if it happens this century. Millard cites 3 main reasons for our inability to put man on Mars.

1. How do we protect astronauts from many hazards associated with long-term space travel?
2. How will we find the funding to subsidize a trip like this?
3. How do we land a big Mars lander when the atmosphere is very different from ours?

Millard believes we should be using space to monitor Earth and its climate changes. Investing more in satellites such as Envisat, the largest Earth observation spacecraft ever built, will help us monitor Earth's atmosphere, oceans and ice caps.