You can send MANY more rockets and do much more exploration with robots than with humans. For one thing, you don't have to worry about them coming back. For another, you don't have the constant nail-biting potential of a Challenger-type PR disaster.

From a scientific point of view, you should explore with robots first and only send humans once you've decided to colonize or when you have money to burn. Right now, sending humans is just a PR decision with no added scientific benefit and grossly increased cost.

Sending MANY more rockets wastes money. It keeps local pork barrel projects alive, not to mention the entire SoCal congressional delegation satisfied (JPL which sends only robots is in SoCal).

Exploration should be more important than the fear of a PR disaster. Can you imagine what a small and backward world would live in if people feared exploration because of a little death.

As for your last point we will never have money to burn, and we have almost maxed out on what we can learn about the Moon and Mars (the two colonizable bodies) via robots. Sending humans is not a PR decision. I intensley dislike the Bush administration and am suspicious of all its policies but on this issue I have an insider's perspective and knowledge. They beleive in this.

Abhi: if we use robots, we can send them one way. If we use humans, we have to plan for a round trip mission, which is far more complicated. Wouldn't we be better served by investing in better robots and remote management capabilities than planning round trip missions to Mars?

We're going to go to Mars at some point. You know it, I know it. Columbus did not stop at the mouth of Isabella's harbor. Sir Hillary did not turn tail at base camp.

Cheap and lightweight robots first, then humans.

We're going to go to Mars at some point. You know it, I know it. Columbus did not stop at the mouth of Isabella's harbor. Sir Hillary did not turn tail at base camp.

Cheap and lightweight robots first, then humans.

Exactly. I'm not against sending humans *ever*, but we have to send robots now to keep up the pace of discovery, to bring costs down, and to map out the terrain so that humans can operate safely.

Humans definitely *aren't* better than robots in every situation. We can send robots on one way trips, we don't have to pack food or water, we have a much lower risk level, and we can control many more robots at the same time from Earth (imagine dozens of robot explorers parachuting out over Mars).

Humans eventually, but robots now.

Dozens of robots all over Mars is a waste of money. I am saying this as a guy whose livelyhood depends on dozens of robots being dropped all over Mars. Either send humans soon or throw in the towel and confine ourselves to accept our fate. There is a lot more important things we could be spending money on than simply aspiring to "keep up the pace."

Don't compare India and Pakistan. India space program is not aimed at any third country and it's targeted for comman man.

India has the world's biggest civilian cluster of remote sensing satellites and have it's own lauch vehicle. Pakistan don't have a established civilian space program or a lauch vehicle of it's own.

As far as I know, Pakistan does not HAVE a space programme, so where is the race?

Moreover, you *SERIOUSLY* need to consider the (very probable) possibility that Indians do science for its own sake, and NOT to compete with Pakistan!

Sending humans in space for operations that can be easily handled by a robot makes no sense and endangers human lives without sufficient reason. If, however, we were seriously considering sending a sizeable chunk of our population tp live on Mars, then yes, I agree that we should send a few manned missions. However, all this is way too far in the future. We need to concentrate on more basic issues first. Remember, NASA developed and conducted its space program, without bothering to check 'trivialities' that caused the Challenger and Columbia disasters.

Thed Indian space program will never be to compete with Pakistan. It is science for science sake, to prove that India can - India's scientific mind is second to none.