NOW THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY I WAS PROMISED: ‘Artificial super astronauts’: How AI and robotics could help humanity settle Mars.

“Artificial astronauts” could fly as actual crew members on human missions to Mars, and elsewhere in space.

These rugged, space-rated artificial humans offer great advantages, advocates say. For example, they would not require the large amounts of consumables needed to support humans. They could also perform spacewalks without a life-support system.

While not everyone will agree on the predicted rate of development of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), the idea is that progress will be fast, commensurate with timescales over which Mars campaigns are planned and implemented, unlike in the past.

You didn’t think Elon Musk was developing autonomous humanoid robots just to do the dishes and vacuum the stairs, did you?