|
"I'm skeptical about the idea of a human space flight being
worthwhile," Rees told the Lord Speaker's Corner podcast, which
features members of Britain's upper house of parliament.
"Now that robots can do the things that humans were needed for
50 years ago, the case for sending people is getting weaker all
the time."
Astronomer Royal is now a largely honorary title. It was
established by King Charles II in 1675 to advise the monarch and
has previously been held by some of Britain's most pre-eminent
scientists.
Rees said space travel should only be for those prepared to
accept a "very high level of risk", and it should be paid for
privately rather than by the taxpayer.
Britain's space programs have traditionally focused on space
research rather than crewed missions.
Helen Sharman was the first Briton to go into space when she
joined the Soviet Union's 1991 Soyus TM-12 mission.
She was followed 24 years later by Tim Peake, who flew to the
International Space Station as a member of the European Space
Agency astronaut corps.
Four U.S. citizens who flew NASA missions were also born in
Britain.
Rees, who was appointed Astronomer Royal in 1995, said he didn't
agree with Elon Musk's ambition to colonize Mars, but he hailed
his achievements in both rockets and electric cars.
"He has done a much better job than the big conglomerates that
used to work for NASA in producing efficient rockets, which can
be reused, and that will make it cheaper to actually send stuff
into space," he said.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by William James)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
