Module 5.4 - UNSY 501
Space exploration is an enterprise that was accomplished by
manned missions during the beginning stages of its development. But as technology has advanced over the decades,
more and more unmanned systems have been implemented in space exploration
missions. There have consistently been debates on whether manned or unmanned
missions provide a greater advantage in the completion of missions in different
areas of space exploration. Once the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) shuttle program was retired and the Constellation program
was cancelled in 2010, the U.S. manned space program was essentially shutdown
(Millis, 2010). These events left the
International Space Station (ISS) as the only avenue for the continuation of manned
space flight for the U.S. via astronaut launches from Russia. But as the manned missions to space have
dwindled, the unmanned missions have increased in number and spectrum. In this discussion, I will review an article
that compares the respective benefits and disadvantages of both manned and
unmanned explorations of space.
The article I reviewed compared manned and unmanned missions
for space exploration and found four distinct disadvantages for manned
spaceflight: safety concerns, health risks, time frame, and costs (Chavis
2015). The most obvious disadvantage of
manned space exploration is the safety risk placed upon the astronauts assigned
to the mission. Any deaths or injuries
to astronauts are regarded as major mission failures by both government and public
agencies involved in space (Chavis 2015).
In the history of manned space flight, five percent of all who have
attempted to fly in space have died for a total of 22 people (Chavis 2015). When you compare these safety risks to an unmanned
mission, there is no possibility of the loss of life which is a major advantage
for unmanned exploration. The second
advantage of unmanned missions is similar to the first being health risks to
the astronauts. Even when manned
launches and missions are completed successfully, the astronauts involved in
the missions can experience a multitude of health issues over the course of the
mission. The most common health issues
that can result from extended time in space are immune deficiency, loss of bone
density, muscle atrophy, and radiation poisoning (Chavis 2015). As with the first advantage, there is no possibility
of these issues with an unmanned mission as there is no one present to
experience the negative effects.
The first two advantages of unmanned missions address the
lack of a human presence, the other two advantages are in regards to the
logistical portion of the mission. The
first logistical advantage of an unmanned mission is the time frame for the
mission, both leading up to and during the mission (Chavis 2015). When a space exploration mission has the
manned component, there is a large amount of training that is required for
members of the mission team that can take months to years in order to
accomplish (Chavis 2015). Unmanned
systems are designed to accomplish their mission as soon as they are
constructed even though it can take years to build these systems (Chavis 2015). The bigger advantage when it comes to time
frame for unmanned missions is the actual length of time available for mission
accomplishment. Due to the fact that
astronauts can experience negative effects from extended periods of time in
space, the mission timeframe is much shorter than that of unmanned space
missions (Chavis 2015). The final
advantage addressed is that the cost of manned space missions is higher than
that of unmanned missions (Chavis 2015).
Some unmanned mission systems may be more expensive overall than manned
missions, but the manned missions only last for weeks or months and unmanned
missions last years (Chavis 2015).
For the most part, I agree with the article that unmanned systems
provide many advantages over manned space exploration. However, I do think that manned exploration
missions allow for far more depth of research and discovery. I think that unmanned systems are better
suited for long term missions that have a broad scope in their goals. Based on the strengths and weaknesses of each
approach, using manned and unmanned missions in complement to one another would
result in the best overall results for space exploration.
References
Chavis, J.C. (2015). Disadvantages
to Manned Missions to Space.
Brighthub. Retrieved from http://www.brighthub.com/science/space/articles/72499.aspx
Millis, J.P.
(2010). The Future of Manned Space Flight. About Education. Retrieved from http://space.about.com/od/spacebasics/a/Future-of-Manned-Space-Flight.htm
