James Jones Mrs. Smith’s class English I 10 September 2003 Advantages of Human Space Exploration One advantage of sending humans into space is that they can improve and repair equipment that machines cannot. For example, visits to the Hubble Space Telescope have allowed new scientific instruments to be installed on the orbiting observatory. These upgrades have greatly increased its productivity by allowing it to “see” things it would not have seen without them. The International Space Station (ISS), which is far too big to assemble on the ground, is an excellent example of the amazing facilities that can be created by human construction workers in orbit. Another advantage of having people in space is that we can better understand human biology by studying the effects microgravity has on the human body. Large amounts of research have already been conducted on how space flight affects the human brain, heart, lungs, bones, muscles, and other body parts. This helps researchers prepare for improvements to human space flight in the future when people will go on even longer space missions beyond Earth orbit. Researchers anticipate that studies on how to provide for emergency blood transfusions for astronauts will produce artificial blood cells that can be used on the ground as well. Machines are capable of doing only what they have been programmed to do. The human mind, however, can analyze a situation and adjust plans accordingly. Although numerous unmanned space probes had already explored the Moon, the landings of the Apollo program were able to bring back a wealth of new scientific information, because the astronauts involved were able to explore their surroundings and find interesting samples. One of the astronauts on the last Moon landing, geologist Harrison Schmitt, was able to utilize his education to find lunar samples that had never been seen. Astronauts bring that same invaluable flexibility and ingenuity to today’s Shuttle and Space Station research. Thus, the human presence may very well be the deciding factor in the ultimate success of the space program as well as the driving force behind it.