Text 1: Astronomer Park argues that NASA should prioritize a crewed mission to Mars. Robotic missions, however sophisticated, cannot match the speed and adaptability of human investigators. A geologist on Mars could examine in an hour the area a rover takes a month to survey.
Text 2: Astronomer Hsu shares Park's enthusiasm for Mars science but questions the priority. A crewed mission, she argues, would consume decades of budget and risk human lives; the same money could send dozens of advanced robotic missions to Mars and other targets. The science return per dollar, Hsu contends, favors machines over astronauts.
The authors most clearly disagree about
- Acheck_circle
whether NASA should prioritize a crewed Mars mission.
- B
whether human astronauts would be capable on Mars.
- C
whether Mars is scientifically interesting.
- D
whether robotic missions exist.
Explanation
Both find Mars scientifically interesting and accept robotic missions as real. They differ on whether to prioritize crewed missions. B captures the dispute.