Who is more important mission controllers or Astronaut

[Pawelk198604]

I read interesting story about Apollo 7, apparently the astronauts not listened to controllers from houston and thus they not flown into space again 

 

But the astronaut are more important than mission controllers, they are in space alone and controllers are far far away, and in future mission to Mars independent thinking would be even more important given the fact that lag in communication would be 10-15 minutes.   

[Leszek]

That was on Skylab I think.  They turned off the comms for a day and took a forced rest.  The story goes something like this, they were all rookies on their first flight.  They had every minute scheduled for them with no down time so that it was 80 something days of 16 hours work and 8 hours sleep.  Thing where scheduled so that they would eat and then have to exercise right after that.  They were not given the flexibility to move things around.  One astronaut got sick when he got into space and the schedule started to fall behind right from the get go.  The more experienced astronauts advised NASA that the schedule was unrealistic before the launch but NASA didn't listen.  The more experienced astronauts where able to keep up with a schedule like that before. (But not for that long, the 85 days I think it was, was a new record at the time.)  Basically the astronauts were treated like equipment and not people.  Finally they had their one day strike and after that NASA listened to them.  However NASA was not impressed and they were considered complainers and never flew again.   However NASA hasn't scheduled a mission like that, with every minute scheduled and no room for astronaut input, since then.

In regards to a mission to Mars this is not an issue.  Not just because NASA learned their lesson but because the flight would be very boring.  NASA's problem would be keeping the astronauts engaged, and other issues not fully understood yet.

To answer the question in the title, neither, if you loose either the mission is over.

[Ten Key]

There was an issue with Apollo 7 as well. The crew had come down with colds, and after spending most of the mission arguing with Mission Control decided they would perform reentry without their helmets on. The helmets were a one piece "fishbowl" design without a retractable visor, and the crew was concerned their congestion would cause their eardrums to rupture if they could not periodically blow their noses as the pressure changed. But the helmets had been designed as part of the restraint system, and controllers were worried they might suffer head or neck injuries. Ultimately the crew refused to put them on, and the two rookie astronauts never flew in space again. The commander, Wally Schirra, had already announced his retirement. 

On the one hand, being weightless with a head cold for two weeks (and no bathroom) would be enough to ruin any one's mood. On the other hand, Apollo 7 was the first manned mission following the Apollo 1 fire, and there was a tremendous amount of pressure on Mission Control to make sure everything went perfectly. There was wrong on both sides.

 

Edited January 1, 2016 by Ten Key

[Nibb31]

There were a couple of "mutinies" in the NASA space program. In all cases, the astronauts never flew again.

[Hcube]

2 hours ago, Pawelk198604 said:

I read interesting story about Apollo 7, apparently the astronauts not listened to controllers from houston and thus they not flown into space again 

 

But the astronaut are more important than mission controllers, they are in space alone and controllers are far far away, and in future mission to Mars independent thinking would be even more important given the fact that lag in communication would be 10-15 minutes.   

I'm pretty sure that if any of them are down, the whole mission is over. There's no most important, they are both essential

[saabstory88]

Tell that to the Russians and their pre-programmed automated spacecraft. 

[Scotius]

48 minutes ago, saabstory88 said:

Tell that to the Russians and their pre-programmed automated spacecraft. 

Gordon Cooper and the crew of Apollo 13 would strongly disagree with this. When fecal matter hits the rotary device, your best bet is an experienced, fast-thinking, cool-headed guy able to take control and do something about the situation.

[fredinno]

1 hour ago, Scotius said:

When fecal matter hits the rotary device, 

Did you mean: When s*** hits the fan?

[Scotius]

SSSHhhhhhhHHHHHHssHHHHHHHH!

[Vaporo]

I think that this is a bit like asking which is more important in an engine, a spark plug or a piston? Without either, the engine can't function. You need both for the whole thing to work (unless it's a diesel engine). And astronaut can make quick decisions that Mission Control might not have time to give input on. Mission Control can see the big picture and give the astronauts options that they couldn't have seen otherwise. Both are necessary on a manned mission. Without one, the other has can't function.

However, the decision will ultimately come down to the astronauts whether Mission Control likes what they decide or not. What's Mission Control going to do? They're in space. Until they're on the ground, they're on their own.

Edited January 2, 2016 by Vaporo