What obvious example am I overlooking?

[james_davis_nicoll]

I'm trying to think of a good example of an SF story with a crewed exploration vehicle armed with a large flotilla of robotic probes (The idea being the meat stays where it's safe, but close enough to the remotes not to have significant time lag).

Comments

[rwpikul.livejournal.com]

Not only is it enough, but it is one of the four basic conflicts: Man v. Nature

Indirect contact would also work for a Man v. Man story. If you move the focus to the mothership, you can also do Man v. Society and Man v. Himself, (similar to setting a military story in a headquarters).