SPACE EXPLORATION — SEAMANS 269 



no information because either instruments or telemetry failed. The 

 X-15 pilot, however, was able to land with valuable flight infomiation 

 recorded by his own senses. 



Second, while instruments can perform many tasks of sensing and 

 measuring better than men, the statistical information gathered and 

 transmitted to earth by these devices constitutes only a part of the 

 basic research necessary for understanding the larger realities of 

 space. The most advanced apparatus can perform only as it is pro- 

 gramed to do. Instruments have no flexibility to meet unforeseen 

 situations. Scientific data acquired in space mechanically must be 

 balanced by on-the-spot human senses, human reasoning, and by the 

 power of judgment compounded of these human elements. 



A man's capacity for storing information is enormous. He requires 

 a minimum of programing. He can change his mind without elab- 

 orate and time-consuming reprograming. His mind is an excellent 

 filter, discarding redundant data with great speed. Man also far out- 

 strips any computer in the ability to make decisions. In this connec- 

 tion, I should like to quote what Dr. Carl Sagan, of the Department 

 of Astronomy, University of California, recently wrote to Senator 

 Paul Douglas of Illinois, to emphasize scientific reasons for manned 

 spaceflight. 



The scientific value [of spaceflight] comes when the men perform scientific 

 tasks. There are large numbers of mineralogical, microbiological, and astro- 

 nomical questions which ti'aiued scientific personnel on the moon will be able to 

 answer far more reliably than any presently conceived automatic instruments. . . . 



I feel strongly that, while an enormous amount of very significant scientific 

 information can be obtained by unmanned vehicles, there are certain problems 

 of the greatest significance which may well elude any unmanned system. If 

 indigenous life exists on the planet Mars — and the bulk of contemporary evidence 

 suggests that this is indeed the case — any but the most preliminary investiga- 

 tions will require a human experimenter. 



It is very difficult to imagine a sophisticated experimental program on the 

 biochemistry, morphology, physiology, genetics, ecology, or behavior of even 

 simple extraterrestrial organisms carried out by a preprogramed instrumented 

 package. If the extraterrestrial organisms are very different from familiar life- 

 forms — and with 5 billion years of independent evolution, this may well be 

 true — it is possible that an instrumented landing vehicle will not even be able 

 to identify them as alive. A human scientist who can draw conclusions . . . 

 on the spot is an enormous asset in all aspects of lunar and planetary 

 exploration. . . . 



Third, w^e must recognize that manned flight in space has a much 

 greater impact on the world's populace than unmanned flight. 



The United States has congratulated the Soviet Union on the orbital 

 flights of Cosmonauts Gagarin and Titov. These achievements did 

 not surprise us. We had been expecting them. Because the Russians 

 have a significant lead on large boosters, we should be prepared for 

 other Soviet "firsts" in space in the immediate future. This serves to 



