that's interesting...

[jay]

Early results...
Remote-rovers, terrestrial-controlled (w/delays) observation rate = 0.12
Remote-rovers, Mars-controlled (w/o delays) obs rate = 1 (normalized)
Spacesuited human, obs rate = 5
Shirtsleeve - free human geologist, obs rate = 27

There are too few datapoints to say definitively, but these results imply that a local spacesuited human has something like 40x the science productivity of a Earth-controlled rover...

Comments

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

Bulk is one issue... one is less inclined on Earth to bend or squat frequently when wearing, say, an 30kg backpack with rigid frame. Restricted field-of-view and the difficulty in moving joints ands gloves also slows down the spacesuit-wearer.