Are ground operations staff still needed for a mission that has a remote-agent equipped spacecraft?
Certainly they are, but they will no longer be saddled with routine operations functions, such as monitoring telemetry. The operations staff will be smaller, and will focus on more interesting and challenging tasks such as resolving problems which cannot be handled by the remote agent. They will become more skilled and knowledgeable about how the different spacecraft systems interact because the remote agent allows the ground operator to work with the big picture leaving the details for the spacecraft software. Mission control will be able to operate more spacecraft, at the same time, equipped with this technology. Furthermore, knowledge used in designing the spacecraft will reside in the software making it available to the mission operations team. Engineers can thus more easily make their changes in a spacecraft s operations, improving its capability. Dramatic rescues of the spacecraft may happen, but less frequently than before. And response to new discoveries and exploration opportu
