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From: irani@cs.umn.edu (Erach Irani)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Re: Divert NASA budget to robotics, human life value
Summary: Challenger accident, Hubble telescope not working
Message-ID: <1990Jul18.012037.13842@cs.umn.edu>
Date: 18 Jul 90 01:20:37 GMT
References: <2787@dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov> <18608@ttidca.TTI.COM> <9935@pt.cs.cmu.edu> <6488@machiavelli.ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov>
Organization: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis - CSCI Dept.
Lines: 18

One reason for using robots in space (or any environment hazardous to
people) is the value of human life as oppossed to the cost of man-made
things.  Consider the Challenger space shuttle accident versus the Hubble
Telescope accident.  Human life is valued far far more highly than the
cost of material things lost.

This is one reason for using robots - they are expendable even if at
great cost.

	erach



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