Mar 27, 2026
3 min read
Space is extremely dangerous, but humans can still do more than robotic explorers can - in terms of technological breakthroughs and strengthening the public interest.
The main premise of the blockbuster film "Project Hail Mary" is a long shot with a familiar goal: saving humanity from extinction.While details about the threat facing humanity are new to this story, moviegoers are used to eating popcorn while watching a heroic quest to save Earth from certain doom.And like many popular films of this generation, from "Armageddon" to "Interstellar," the hero's journey involves an impossible mission into space.
The film's premiere is well timed for the new era of space exploration.NASA's Artemis II mission, scheduled for launch in early April, will send four astronauts around the moon on a path that will take them deeper into space than any human has ever traveled.
The Flyby mission is primarily about testing equipment for a lunar landing in 2028. But a broader plan was outlined in detail in March 2026 by NASA officials: to establish a permanent base on the Moon.
NASA is not alone in its lunar ambitions.Private space companies SpaceX and Blue Origin are developing the next generation of spacecraft, rovers and drones to facilitate an American base on the moon.Other countries, notably China, are also working on their own lunar outposts.
These nations and corporations see the moon as a stepping stone to more ambitious goals: a major human migration into deep space, including Mars.
As things stand, it's worth thinking about what those investing billions in human space exploration, whether taxpayer money or private funds, are trying to achieve.As a biologist, I recognize the limitations of humans as space explorers.As I explain in my book “Becoming Martian: How Living in Space Will Change Our Bodies and Minds,” although biologists have learned a lot about how conditions in space affect the human body and mind, sending humans on longer missions will deepen space by exposing people to unknown health risks.
Plans to send humans to the Moon and beyond are gaining momentum.NASA's new administrator, Jared Isaacman, has argued that defeating China on the moon is a matter of national security, calling the moon a "top tier."He also promoted the economic benefits of establishing a space economy with mining and manufacturing on the Moon.
Subcommittees in the House and Senate have passed bills to put the initiatives into law -- formalized this month -- aimed at establishing a permanent foundation in American politics.They appear to have bipartisan support and are expected to pass a vote in both houses of Congress.
The United States and China are aiming to land humans on Mars by the 2030s, with the goal of building the infrastructure to allow for long-term habitation.
In March 2026, NASA also announced that the agency plans to test a nuclear-powered Mars rover in 2028.Nuclear rockets have the potential to significantly reduce the time it takes to reach Mars and make human flight to the red planet more feasible.
Humans or robots?
But why do people have to go to Mars?Like the Moon, both the United States and China have scientific, economic and geopolitical motivations for establishing a human presence on Mars.However, these are separate goals that are often consolidated.
From a scientific perspective, NASA's Mars rover has had some impressive successes, including last year's discovery of potential biological signatures that are the best evidence yet of microbial life on the planet.
Robotic missions also have lower costs and higher risk than human missions.Despite Isaacman's public commitment to the Artemis program and its goals of human spaceflight, the agency's agenda includes companies,Several robotic missions to the lunar surface are expected to be carried out in collaboration with universities and international partners.
Similarly, some economic goals, such as running mines and manufacturing facilities, can be accomplished using AI-powered robots, such as those being developed by Tesla.Robots are far from fully performing tasks that humans can perform, but prioritizing robot activities can reduce human exposure to space hazards.
If it is truly important to have people on the Moon and Mars to achieve these goals, let us be clear about the risks that those carrying out these missions must consider.
Space and the human body
Although scientists have learned a lot about how spaceflight affects the body during the six decades of human spaceflight, there are still significant blind spots.Among them is the effect of deep space radiation.
The 24 Apollo astronauts who traveled to the Moon are the only people ever to have ventured beyond the Van Allen radiation belts, a region of space around our Earth formed by the Earth's magnetic field.
Along with capturing radiation from the Sun and deep space, our magnetic field is part of what makes Earth habitable for us and other life forms.The Moon and Mars do not have a magnetic field, so their surfaces have significant levels of radiation.NASA Researchers are currently conducting experiments on rodents using simulated galactic cosmic rays, which are largely blocked by Earth's magnetic field.Preliminary results suggest that this type of radiation can impair cognitive abilities, but its actual effect on humans is unknown.
Similarly, while medical researchers know that floating in a zero-gravity environment causes muscle atrophy and loss of bone density during extended stays on the International Space Station, relatively little is known about how partial gravity affects muscles and bones.The Moon has one-sixth the gravity of Earth and Mars has a little more than one-third.
Crews on Earth can simulate partial power for 30 minutes at a time during parabolic flights, but only the 12 Apollo astronauts who walked on the Moon experienced it for longer than that.The longest they stayed was about three days.Scientists can speculate whether prolonged exposure to the partial energy of the Moon or Mars would have beneficial health effects.
Sending robots into space avoids the need to deal with risks to human health.But there are drawbacks.Not only do robotic space missions have fewer capabilities than manned missions, they also often fail to capture interest and imagination and demonstrate national prestige in the same way that human missions can.
The four members of the Artemis team will attract audiences around the world to see their hard work around the Moon, as the filmmakers come from Ryan Gosling in "Project Hail Mary" when they want to save people from another destruction on the big screen.
This human interest is the common bond that connects the ambitions of public and private space around the world.While robotic missions are more practical and cost-effective, they just don't inspire the masses the way a human crew can.Beyond achieving economic, political or scientific goals, space exploration is ultimately about people doing hard things.
