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Originally Posted by Robert9
Are you saying that you feel its worth while polluting an unknown environment with plutonium?
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No.
I might say that I feel the minimal risk of radioactive contamination on Mars, is far outweighed by the potential gains in returned knowledge.
The MMRTG has been engineered to minimise this risk.
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Originally Posted by Robert9
If there are life forms on Mars, this, undoubtedly, will tell us what we can expect back here on Earth.
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Really ?
How do you know this for certain ?
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Originally Posted by Robert9
But can we measure anything without changing it - Heisenberg ? Surely precautions must be taken to limit the changes. We do try not to carry bacteria. Perhaps we should be limiting other forms of pollution, eg radioactivity, even if it means restricting our exploratory capabilities.
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Sure. It has already been considered ... the MMRTG engineering has minimised the risk to the extent that the option of restricting exploratory projects, is unnecessary.
I look forward to your response to my original question:
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Originally Posted by CraigS
With this perspective, is it now justified ?
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Cheers