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	Podcast:		4. Chemistry and Physics
	Episode:		Robotic Spacecraft
	Category:		Science & Medicine
	Duration:		00:01:17
	Publish Date:		2011-07-13 18:51:10
	Description:		Transcript: The debate continues over the relative merits of manned space travel versus the use of robotic spacecraft. Manned space flight is dangerous. Astronauts have died in space, and the public is not always sure they want to pay that price. Manned space flight is expensive because the humans must be maintained in a hostile environment. If humans are ever sent to Mars the probable minimum price tag is three or four hundred billion dollars. By contrast, robotic space craft are cheap and easy to build. The miniaturization of electronics has made them more and more cost effective over time. They do not, however, capture the imagination the way sending people into space does. It is likely that for the foreseeable future, the space program will combine human space flight with robotic space craft.
	Total Play:		0