Nasa should leave human spaceflight to billionaire adventurers such as Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, a top astronomer said.
Martin Rees, the UK’s Astronomer Royal, said AI technology made human beings increasingly redundant for scientific missions.
But, he said, the world should be celebrating the “crazy adventurers” who fund their own missions.
Recent flights into orbit by Mr Bezos and Britain’s Richard Branson signalled the dawn of a privately funded space race.
It rivals efforts by Nasa and other government-funded space programmes, which once held a monopoly on space travel.
“I’m not an American taxpayer, but if I were, I would be against spending any Nasa funds on human spaceflight,” Mr Rees told the Aspen Security Forum.
“I don’t think it’s got any practical use for mining, for assembling structures or indeed for exploration. That can all be done by robots and not by people.
“I think we should leave that to the private companies ... we should cheer on the crazy adventurers who want to go into space.”
Nasa has a stated aim of returning US astronauts to the Moon by 2024, more than half a century after the last Apollo mission.
Mr Bezos chose the 52nd anniversary of Apollo 11 to make his 10-minute flight to the edge of space last month, launched by a rocket known as New Shepard.
He was beaten by a week by Virgin boss Richard Branson, who hopes to start taking paying customers to space next year.
Meanwhile, SpaceX founder Elon Musk wants to go to Mars and has spoken of 2024 as the earliest possible date for a human flight.
Experts at the Aspen Institute event raised concerns about a space collision that could knock out satellites and affect critical infrastructure on Earth.
Defence experts fear that rogue states or other groups could cause worldwide chaos by exploiting such a scenario to bring down hundreds of satellites.
The so-called Kessler Effect predicts that collisions caused by space junk would trigger a chain reaction of further collisions, making it virtually impossible for spacecraft to navigate.
Ankit Panda, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said efforts to regulate space lagged behind the pace of commercial activity.
“As large as space is, Earth orbits are getting more crowded,” he said. “We don’t really have a good international framework to ensure the sustainability of space.
“Dealing with this as we have other domains on Earth, including the maritime domain … that is going to be the first step to effective international governance.”
Kerry Buckley, an air and space specialist at the Mitre corporation, compared the management of space with the way that air traffic is controlled on Earth.
“We’re going to have strong indications that the early stages of this crowding is going to have a real impact on launch windows,” she said.
Mr Rees said preventing collisions in space was an urgent concern and predicted that the military threat would become serious over time.
“Of course we depend on GPS and the rest of it, and I think the vulnerability of those is really scary,” he said.
HOW TO WATCH
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A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
Company%20profile
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Brief scores
Day 1
Toss England, chose to bat
England, 1st innings 357-5 (87 overs): Root 184 not out, Moeen 61 not out, Stokes 56; Philander 3-46
Awar Qalb
Director: Jamal Salem
Starring: Abdulla Zaid, Joma Ali, Neven Madi and Khadija Sleiman
Two stars
Expert advice
“Join in with a group like Cycle Safe Dubai or TrainYAS, where you’ll meet like-minded people and always have support on hand.”
Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles
“When you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of salt and other electrolytes from your body. If your electrolytes drop enough, you will be at risk of cramping. To prevent salt deficiency, simply add an electrolyte mix to your water.”
Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can ride as fast or as far during the summer as you do in cooler weather. The heat will make you expend more energy to maintain a speed that might normally be comfortable, so pace yourself when riding during the hotter parts of the day.”
Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
Monster
Directed by: Anthony Mandler
Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington
3/5
THE BIO:
Favourite holiday destination: Thailand. I go every year and I’m obsessed with the fitness camps there.
Favourite book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s an amazing story about barefoot running.
Favourite film: A League of their Own. I used to love watching it in my granny’s house when I was seven.
Personal motto: Believe it and you can achieve it.
SHAITTAN
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Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
