Re: issues
What is interesting is not so much about the robot v humans issue (to explore space) but whether we can accept to change to the point of becoming unrecognizable by today's standard, in order to be able to achieve those long term goals. You just don't find authors interested in stories about non-human (but human descendants) heroes. Even if they are robots, the heroes keep a human touch so that they remain identifiable. I'm sure it will turn out to be more complex.
Raoul