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Ethics

Ethics

Building an ethical consensus for space exploration

27 Nov 2019
Taken from the November 2019 issue of Physics World.

With plans for a human mission to Mars under way, Monica Vidaurri warns that there can be no progress without first tackling the ethics of human space travel

SpaceX Mars City One

When Israel’s Beresheet spacecraft crash-landed on the Moon in April, it was yet another reminder that “space is hard”. Despite SpaceIL – the firm behind the craft – receiving plaudits for getting so close, only later did it emerge that Beresheet contained hundreds of tardigrades – creatures under a millimetre long that are known to survive incredibly harsh conditions (October 2019). While SpaceIL had jumped through the necessary hoops from NASA’s planetary-protection office for the mission, the firm was apparently unaware that the tardigrades had been included in a payload by the US-based Arch Mission Foundation.

The incident was a reminder that, for some, space exploration comes with a “first come, first served” mentality. Take another example – private artificial satellite constellations promising global 5G communication. Did humankind – particularly weather forecasters and ground-based astronomers – ever agree to all these missions? Or was it just the will of the companies thinking that their perspective of “good” fits a universal standard? Sadly, such ethical considerations are either missing entirely or can easily be breached, particularly by unregulated entities.

As space organizations think about sending humans beyond Earth orbit for the first time in over half a century, we still largely know nothing about how we affect our celestial neighbours and, even more terrifyingly, how environments on other bodies could affect our own health. Assumptions about our ability to live in space have no regard for how little we know about medical practices in non-Earth gravity, microbial resistance in microgravity, the chemical composition of regoliths – even on the Moon we claim to know so well – as well the effects of bioterrorism and quarantine in future space expeditions. This is all, of course, to say nothing about the possibility of life that may exist elsewhere.

Space exploration is risky, but it is well within our research capabilities to understand potential contamination effects, improve medical practices, thwart any potential for space to become a new sector for bioterrorism, and explore the global socioeconomic impact of science missions. Failing to consider these issues not only endangers future explorers but, I believe, is also highly unethical.

On top of this, some dismiss the role that humans have already played in colonization and exploitation on Earth. To them, colonization was an event that took place in the past and not one that continues to thrive today on exploitation. They believe that the Western way of life and our affinity for capitalism is something that is guaranteed to carry on into space. They talk about how our government and institutions will continue to live on the Moon or on Mars and the rhetoric of democracy in space, citing “space is for all” without accounting for the right of all ideologies to study space.

This is not to say that exploration and scientific progress should stop while we reassess. Indeed, the emergence of the private space sector allows us to progress in a way not seen before. For example, in late September, SpaceX unveiled its Mars rocket prototype, dubbed Starship. But this is the scary part: progress without even the slightest consideration of socioeconomic implications or how exploration can facilitate exploitation on a global scale will do more harm than good.

Progress without ethics silences all the voices that have a right to space science and exploration. It gags those who are simply not rich enough or who have no interest in establishing a permanent or economic presence on another world. If those who are privileged enough to lead humans further into space cannot see the repeated and destructive path that humanity will once again head down, then there are already voices that are being silenced – even before we have colonized other worlds.

Space is the last peaceful place we have. The collaborative nature of space science and exploration was built on the understanding that no single company, agency or nation can ever hope to comprehend the universe we live in. It is human nature to explore, learn and to take risks. For the first time in human history, there is a chance to push forward in a way that benefits and includes us all and, with space science, humanity can begin to untangle its harmful and exploitative tendencies.

We need to carry out an uncomfortable self-assessment – what are the goals for public and private sectors in space? Are we technologically ready for such exploration? Who are the people putting progress ahead of ethical concerns and why do they view colonization as a right? Ethics is often viewed as a roadblock to progress instead of a way to make advances responsible and mindful of a long history of exploitation and silencing. In my experience, any conversations already taking place about these questions have no diversity component.

I belong to a generation where the Hollywood depiction of travelling to Mars has became less science fiction and more of a feasible career goal. I believe we can have an ethical public–private collaboration as we enter a new chapter in human history. We owe it to ourselves and to generations to come to create a safe and truly inclusive future in space: where the dismantling of exclusionary practices can begin now.

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