re: Robots - half the science for 1% of the cost???
One of the scientists criticizing Bush's Mars plans said robotic missions could accomplish the same goals with 1% of the cost (sorry, can't remember who). I was more conservative, and as I said, it's a completely wild guess. The real answer is it depends on the mission. For most remote sensing science operations, my estimate is that robots are a zillion times MORE cost effective than humans (and that's not a wild guess).
Reading about astronauts snapping photos of earth out of spacecraft windows as "science" seemed pretty depressing to me.