With the capabilities of probes and different robotic instruments at this time, what’s the objective of sending human astronauts into area?
For those who simply need to take photos, you do this with robotic belongings. Robots can take photos. They do this on a regular basis. We now have plenty of photos within the space. We even have, on the Worldwide House Station, a means for us to ask, “Please take an image of this. Please take an image of that.” That’s not what we did with Artemis II, and that’s not what we’re attempting to do with Artemis III or Artemis IV, V, VI. With the Artemis missions, we’re attempting to make use of the people to their greatest functionality, and what the people are actually good at is seeing a large scene, zooming in on particulars very naturally, after which attempting to interpret what they’re seeing and take the following step.
We don’t know every little thing concerning the moon. To be taught extra, we have to actually go on the floor and determine what’s there and the place to go subsequent. So a few of that is attempting to coach—not simply the crew onboard—however the flight administrators and the science group and the engineers. All of us have to work collectively to allow people to do what they do greatest.
We additionally give the crew science prompts. We are saying, “What do you assume is occurring on this scene? There’s one thing like a storm or an algal bloom or a fireplace. What do you see? How do you see the scene altering? What do you assume which means? What do you assume is inflicting that change? What do you assume goes to occur subsequent? For those who might do something, what would you do subsequent?” That helps us perceive what they’re taking a look at, which isn’t simply taking photos. It’s making observations, making understanding, making inferences with their brains. That’s what people are actually good at. That’s what we’ll be asking them to do.
