The UK’s Astronomer Royal – his official title – has said government funding should no longer be used to send people into space. Talking in the context of space exploration and inter-planetary travel, he highlights that with the progress of robotics, and the ability to carry out tasks remotely, such space travel should be privately funded.
“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,” he said.
He made the call during an interview for the Lord Speaker’s Corner series on the House of Lords channel on YouTube, which was published this week.
