Technology - Evolution - and Interplanetary Travel

Question: Discuss aboiut the Technology, Evolution, and Interplanetary Travel. Answer: Introduction: It is quite perilous for any human being to go to space, be there for some time to accomplish any purpose or mission and come back on earth (Hooper, (n.d.)). This is fundamentally because space environment is very hostile for humans. For many years, most space missions have been done by humans but majority of them have turned to be riskier and more challenging to collect the scientific data needed. As a result, engineers and astronauts have been prompted to develop robots that can perform better than humans in space missions. Robots in Space is a term used to describe robots that are used for space explorations or missions. Today, most space missions are now being performed by robots and there is an ongoing debate on whether robots should entirely replace humans in future space explorations. There are numerous robots in space that have been used for different space missions. Among the first robots in space were orbiters, landers and rovers sent to Mars. The first robot to be sent in space was Sputnik 1 by Russia and this happened in 1957 (Davison, 2010). Mariner 2 was the first lander to be sent to Venus in 1962. Mariner 4 was the first orbiter to be sent to Mars in 1965. In 1970, Venera 7 was sent to Venus and became the first robot in space to send data directly to the earth. Viking landers was sent to Mars in 1976. The launch of Voyager 1 2 happened in 1977 and these robots are still making their way from the solar system and are now in the heliopause (Wethington, 2016). The robots are sent in space by different space organizations including National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), European Space Agency, USSR, Canadian Space Association, etc. Up to date, several robots have been sent to different destinations of the solar system including the moon, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn and Uranus (McKinnon, 2014). There are different types of robots in space, in terms of sizes, shapes and functions. Some of these include: Orbiters, Flyby Probe, Landers, Rovers, Robot Arms, Atmospheric Probes, and Humanoid Robots. These robots have some similar characteristics such as sensors, actuators, controllers, power supply and radio communications. These are the systems that enable the robots to travel into space, collect data while in space, process it and send it to the earth. Sensors collect information regarding the robot and the environment where it is. The work of controllers is to process information collected from sensors, as per instructions sent from the earths ground control station, and ensure that actuators receive the right command signals. Actuators are responsible for converting command signals from controllers into actions (The Open University, (n.d.)). Power supply acts as a source of power needed to facilitate the operations of the robot. Robots in space can be grouped into two major categories: remote manipulator system (RMS) and remotely operated vehicle (ROV). RMS robots are those that are sent into space accompanied with astronauts. These robots are said to be manned. On the other hand, ROV robots are the type of robots that are sent into space without the company of humans. These robots are said to be unmanned (Woodfill, 2011). Unmanned robots have become more popular over the recent years mainly because of the fatalities caused of the lives that were lost with some manned robots. Approximately 20 astronauts had died during spaceflight and several others during spaceflight tests. This includes accidents such as Space Shuttles, Soviet Soyuz, X-15, and Apollo 1, among others (Borenstein, 2014). It is also important to note that unmanned robots are connected to ground stations that control them and constantly monitor and record what they do during the spaceflight. There are several advantages of using robots for space missions than humans. Some of these advantages include: they do not need food not drinks; have a lower risk factor; have greater ability to survive in difficult surface and hostile atmospheric conditions present in space; and they can work untiringly for longer. The robots in space are designed to endure life-threatening conditions such as extreme weather conditions (extreme cold and heat), ionizing radiation and rugged surfaces. These robots are able to replace or support humans in performing tasks in space that are time consuming, very difficult and dangerous. In addition, robots in space are more precise and faster than humans. Robots in space perform a wide range of functions. This includes positioning or fixing instruments so as to take certain measurements, installing a structure on space, collect samples for further analysis; or move around just like an astronaut. Most of these tasks are very difficult or even impossible to be performed by humans because of numerous challenges such as nearly zero gravity and extreme environmental conditions in space that makes it difficult for humans to stand, walk or even breathe. Numerous projects are being implemented to develop more sophisticated robots with greater ability to stay longer in space, collect more comprehensive data and perform virtually the same as astronauts. One of these futuristic robots is Robonaut 2, which is a humanoid robot that has a similar appearance to astronauts and is also designed operate in a similar way as astronauts. Robonaut 2 is a humanoid robot that is first ever to be sent to space. The $2.5 million humanoid robot is made up of a head, torso, and limber arms, and is about 1.01m tall and weighs approximately 150kg (Hornyak, 2011). This space robot is designed to function almost the same as an astronaut (NASA, 2010) and it was sent to ISS (International Space Station) in 2011 (Nowakowski, 2016). Some of its key features include: telemedicine applications, robotic exoskeleton, robotic glove, and more advanced sensing, safety and motion systems (Niles, 2015). To improve the efficiency of robots in space, organizations such as NASA are now developing and testing space robots in places known as analogs. These are areas whose environments are controlled to have similar characteristics as those in space. One of such areas is Arizona desert where NASA robotic specialists perform field tests to analyze new concepts for ground support, spacewalks and rovers (May, 2014). Considering all the achievements so far and the ongoing developments in space exploration, it is certain that robots in space will continue helping humans to understand the universe better and probably make a conclusion on which places within the space support life (Launius and McCurdy, 2012). For this reasons, robots are very essential machines in future exploration of the space. However, this does not mean that they will replace humans participation. Therefore it is not a matter of making a choice between robotic and human space exploration but the two are very essential for successful space exploration. The integration of humans and robots will facilitate extensive space exploration without losing lives unnecessarily (Mann, 2012). Bibliography Borenstein, S., 2014, A look at people killed during space missions [Online]. Available: https://phys.org/news/2014-11-people-space-missions.html [Accessed March 18, 2017]. Colwell, J., 2014, Robots vs Astronauts [Online]. 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