“Robots in Space” (2008, The Johns Hopkins University Press) looks at competing visions for robotic vs. human space exploration and concludes that neither will get far beyond the solar system without one another.

Perhaps the only thing that can inspire fresh zeal for space exploration comes from finding new Earth-like planets around other stars, according to authors Roger Launius and Howard McCurdy.

However, humans and robots can’t even attempt an interstellar journey yet. Robots lack the mental power and flexibility to conduct distant missions far from human handlers, while humans remain vulnerable to the effects of space radiation, aging, and other physical hazards in space travel.

A solution may arise from the vision of futurists such as Ray Kurzweil, who sees humans and robots eventually merging to combine the best traits of both.