A History Today Book of the Year

A world-renowned astronomer and a distinguished science writer advocate the provocative view that space exploration should be done without astronauts. Human space travel fills us with awe, but for astronauts, the experience of spaceflight comes with enormous costs and risks. With the advancement of robotic explorers, governments and companies must question whether our desire to send astronauts to the Moon and Mars justifies the expense and dangers.

In The End of Astronauts, Goldsmith and Rees weigh the benefits and risks of human exploration in our solar system. In space, humans need air, food, and water, as well as protection from hazardous radiation, at a cost of more than ten times that of robotic exploration. Meanwhile, automated explorers have shown the ability to explore planetary surfaces efficiently, operating autonomously or under direction from Earth.

Although Goldsmith and Rees are cautious about the limitations of artificial intelligence, they recognize that our robots are continuously improving, while our bodies are not. Today, a robot cannot match the expertise of a geologist, but by the time a geologist lands on Mars, this advantage will have shrunk significantly.

Decades of research and experience, combined with interviews with scientific authorities and former astronauts, provide compelling arguments that robots represent the future of space exploration. The End of Astronauts also examines how space artificial intelligence can be regulated as companies rush to privatize the stars. We may ultimately decide that humans belong in space despite the risks and costs, but their paths will follow the routes set by robots.

Pages: 192, Year of Publication: 0518, Dimensions: 14x14cm