Download - Lukas Aeschlimeann AIAA essay contest winner
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7/30/2019 Lukas Aeschlimeann AIAA essay contest winner
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LukasAeschlimann
ZahirRobb
STAR Prep
Academy
Essay: How Humans and Robots Can Work Together to Explore Mars
Many people believe that humans and robots are complete
opposites, with different origins, attributes, skills, or abilities. Like night
and day, or human and Martian. How could such opposites work
together to do anything, especially something as complex and delicate
as exploring another planet, Mars? Quite smoothly. Humans and robots
are not necessarily opposite, but rather dependent on one another for
numerous tasks in varied situations. Humans and robots together
provide more options than would be possible if you settled for just one
of them. In other words, there are myriad ways in which humans and
robots can work together to explore Mars. In fact, they have a
symbiotic relationship that is already at work helping to do just that.
One example of this symbiosis is in the remote operation of the
Mars rovers, mobile robots placed on the surface by immobile robots
called landers. The humans remotely operating the rovers from Earth
depend on them to gather scientific data and images of Mars. The
rovers, on the other hand, depend on the humans commanding them
in order to move and interact with their environment. This
collaboration between humans on Earth and robots on Mars is
producing new discoveries almost daily about the chemistry, weather,
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and geography of Mars.
Currently, JPL and NASA are working together with robots to pave
the way for humans to go to Mars. For example, two missions, the Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter and the 2001 Mars Odyssey, are searching for
usable resources of a specific substance: water. Water is, essentially,
the key to life. Humans can go for long periods of time without food,
but can go only for a significantly shorter period of time without water.
While water has been found already on Mars in the form of ice,
scientists have not found resources of it that they could extract liquid
water from, or figured out a way to convert it from the ice.
The 2001 Mars Odyssey is also examining Marss radiation. If we
understand the radiation of Mars, we can know what kind of effects on
astronauts and their equipment the UV radiation from the sun,
unhampered thanks to the lack of ozone on Mars, would have. Its not
just the radiation itself we have to worry about. Superoxides have been
found in the soil on Mars. A superoxide is a compound that attacks
organic molecules when exposed to ultraviolet radiation, creating
potential complications to long-term habitation on Mars. It is possible
that there are additional exotic hazards, and if so, we need to know.
Successful scientific exploration can only be achieved by anticipating
as many surprises as realistically possible.
Orbiters other than the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are helping
us understand Marss geology and climate, due to their birds eye view
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of Mars. Marss crater and volcano filled geology and its dust-storm
generating climate should both be understood incredibly well in order
to find an optimal landing site and to prepare for any surprises the
weather of Mars might throw the astronauts way. The orbiters can
help us gain that kind of understanding.
Now lets imagine, within the restrictions of reality, how humans
and robots will work together when we eventually do send humans to
Mars. I think that their symbiotic relationship will be even more
effective. A human on Mars could control and adjust the robot better
than a human on Earth because they would have a better view of the
environment, or of any problem encountered by the robot. If a dust
storm covers the robot in dust, causing the camera to be blocked,
people on Earth would not be able to properly manage the situation. A
human on Mars, on the other hand, would be right there, could see the
problem much better, and thus be able either to direct people on Earth
in how to operate the robot, or simply remove the dust themselves.
The presence of robots would also make it easier for humans to
do science. When a human first arrives on Mars, acquiring the water
from previously discovered sources would be of prime importance.
Instead of a human doing the job, a robot could be sent to find and
extract the water. This would allow the human to start conducting
scientific research that much earlier. Furthermore, robots could be
used to perform other ongoing tasks related to basic survival, which
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would allow the human research to go much more efficiently. The
presence of the orbiters would also make it easier to communicate
with, and send information to, mission control. The human could send
signals up to the orbiter, which would then relay them to mission
control cleanly and efficiently, as they have done in the past with the
rovers. In addition, the orbiters could also be used to watch for dust
storms and alert mission control and the astronauts, so that they can
prepare and avoid potentially lethal complications. Also, remember
those landers? They could be outfitted with the proper technology to
allow them to do sample returns before the humans are ready to leave.
In conclusion, when we humans join the robots on Mars, the
robots will have already reduced the potential hardships and hazards
for humans. Even if there are no Martians to greet us, at least there
will be robots. And while robots, as far as we know, do not feel
loneliness, humans certainly do. To help humans deal with the
psychology of feeling isolated on Mars, perhaps robot pets can be sent
along. The future of Mars exploration and human-robot cooperation is
full of possibilities. We just have to make use of them.