ethics of space exploration lecture

Peter Household

Perhaps we can but should we? Some thoughts on the

ethics of space exploration

Shannonside Astronomy Club

5 Nov 2015

Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration

What do we say about ….. ?

Law in space? …. Law and Metalaw

Planetary protection

What do we protect? Why? … life? landscape? archaeology?

“The Overprotection of Mars”

Human or robotic explorers?

Terraforming – good, bad, obligatory, unavoidable?

Mining asteroids and the Moon

Private property in space?


What do we say about ….. ?

Invasive science

Mars One – human rights?

Colonising the universe – why?

Does why matter?

What laws will suit a colony on Mars?

Contact with aliens - rules? Protecting us, protecting them

Weaponisation of space


Law in space?

Ethics in space

• What's permissible

• What's obligatory

• What's prohibited

on the part of moral agents


Law in space?

Law and Metalaw

Attorney Andrew G. Haley in 1956


“ The reach of legal discourse may be constrained by the boundaries of the territory, terrain or ‘space’ within which legal rules apply and their enforcement is feasible. However, outer space, in all its unexplored and unknown vastness, is not susceptible to these constraints imposed by the puny hands of human law.

“ But as we probe that vastness, we human beings take with us ethical frames of reference whose scope and relevance far exceed the bounds of legal frontiers. ”

Marcio Barbosa, Deputy Director-General of UNESCO, 29 October 2004

Law and ethics


Law in space?

1967 Outer Space Treaty

Freedom of use and exploration International law

International co-operationPeaceful purposes

Environmental protectionNon-appropriation of space


Asteroid mining


Asteroid mining

“Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.”

• 1967 Outer Space Treaty, Article II


Asteroid mining


Asteroid mining

http://www.planetaryresources.com/ http://deepspaceindustries.com/

“international law” ?? “treaty” ??? “ethics” ????

http://www.planetaryresources.com/

http://deepspaceindustries.com/


Asteroid mining

Jim Benson, Chairman of the Space Development Corp, 1997

“ After landing, we will ‘stake’ any mining and patent claims we believe to be possible, and then will simply declare ownership of the trillion-dollar asset. This will help draw attention to the need to establish private property rights in space. ”

Source: Kenneth Silber, A Little Piece of Heaven, Nov. 1998


Asteroid mining

“Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.”

• 1967 Outer Space Treaty, Article II


Rhododendrons at the Vee, Co Tipperary

An invasive species



forward planetary protection backward planetary protection


“ We humans have a burning desire to increase ourunderstanding of everything around us, but we are accountable to future generations of scientists to explore our solar system without destroying the capability of others to conduct their own investigations. ”

When biospheres collide, Michael Meltzer, NASA 2011.



The “Overprotection of Mars” debate




forward planetary protection• heating spacecraft to kill microbes

• sterilised parts in protective wrappings • protective gear for workers


NASA's Curiosity rover Operator in

clean-room garb tests the wheels

Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech




forward planetary protection

• trajectory biasing • quarantine orbits • Mars Pathfinder 1997



Special regions on Mars

Recurring slope lineae



Special regions on Mars

Recurring slope lineae

Terrestrial life might survive

What minimum temperature?

Current definition - 25°C



… what about humans on Mars ?

Catharine A. Conley NASA planetary protection officer

"a race against time"



Alberto G. Fairen, Department of Astronomy, Cornell University. Credit: Cornell University



NATURE GEOSCIENCE | VOL 6 | JULY 2013 |


New Scientist editorial July 2013

“ Is there a case for relaxing the rules? Perhaps. If Mars has its own life, it should be different enough from Earth life for us to recognise it. If it doesn't, any bugs we find will be recognisably terrestrial. In either case, Earth life will struggle to colonise Mars. Recent arrivals are unlikely to thrive in the harsh conditions, and the possibility of them outcompeting any natives is about as likely as parrots colonising Antarctica and ousting the penguins ….



New Scientist editorial July 2013

But …

“ If a spacecraft crashed or melted through Europa's shell into the ocean beneath, it could have fatal consequences for everything living there. The only thing worse than not finding life – if it is there – would be finding it after we've destroyed it.”




Committee On Space Research (COSPAR)

Expanding the knowledge frontier of space for the benefit of humankind

created 1958



Article IX of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty

“… parties to the Treaty shall pursue studies of outer space including the Moon and other celestial bodies, and conduct exploration of them so as to avoid their harmful contamination and also adverse changes in the environment of the Earth resulting from the introduction of extraterrestrial matter and, where necessary, shall adopt appropriate measures for this purpose …”



Grand Canyon : US National Park + UNESCO World Heritage Site



Cape St Vincent, one of the cliffs of Victoria crater, Mars


COSPAR says …

– life, including extra-terrestrial life, has special ethical status and deserves appropriate respect because it has both intrinsic and instrumental values

and

– non-living things, including extraterrestrial things, likewise have value and deserve respect appropriate to their instrumental, aesthetic or other value to human or extraterrestrial life.

Why do we protect? What do we protect?

p24 of COSPAR Workshop on Ethical Considerations for Planetary Protection in Space Exploration, 2010


Terraforming


Terraforming

Why do we value Mars?

• as a park ?

• as a lab ?

• a location for a new society ?

• a source of minerals ?

• an enterprise zone ?

• a lifeboat ?


Terraforming

What is our ethical obligation?

1. To preserve Mars to same degree we seek to protect Earth’s environment?

2. To keep it pristine? Why?

3. What if there is no life on Mars?


Terraforming

What is our ethical obligation?

1. To preserve Mars to same degree we seek to protect Earth’s environment?

2. To keep it pristine? Why?

3. What if there is no life on Mars?

OR

4. To expand terrestrial life onto Mars?

5. Even if it already has life?


Mars One


Mars One

o first human mission 2024. One way onlyo crowdfunding project, under private sponsorship

o videos of their daily lives to a TV channel on earth

o Interplanetary Media Group owns all intellectual property, images, data

o Bas Lansdorp and Arno Wielders founders and chief officers

o scientific & legal researchers and advisers recruited worldwide


Mars One

”


Mars One

Dr Joseph Roche

“drastically curtailed”


Mars One

”


Space archaeology

Buzz Aldrin salutes the US flag, 1969 (Wikipedia)

Footprints in foreground

How long will they last?


Space archaeology

Space archaeologist Beth O'Leary

A national heritage site protecting the Apollo lunar landing site.


Space archaeology


Space archaeology

“ I am a believer that when those first people went to the moon they didn't just represent America but humanity as a whole. Ultimately, the attempt to preserve sites has to be international. ”


1. Politics, funding, rivalry2. Inspiring a new generation3. Human scientists more responsive, intuitive4. Important science in space?5. ‘Because it is there’6. Unifying project for humans, world peace7. Manifest destiny

Humans in space


Humans in space

7. Manifest destiny

“ We have crossed all the mountains; we have penetrated all the oceans. We have plumbed the atmosphere to its height and the oceans to their depths. Unless we are willing to settle down into a world that is our prison, we must be ready to move beyond Earth, and I think we are ready. We have the technological capacity to do so; all that we need is the will. ”

Isaac Asimov, Our Future in the Cosmos (1983)


Humans in space

(8) Preserving the human species(9) Back-up biosphere(10) Stewardship model


Humans in space

(8) Preserving the human speciesThe Hawking justification “We must also continue to go into space for the

future of humanity," he said. "I don't think we will survive another thousand years without escaping beyond our fragile planet."

The Guardian, Tuesday 12 November 2013


Humans in space

(10) Stewardship model

Prudent use of space resources ... may explore … … or should explore ??… but not exploit. Our actions judged by their impact on others, on the universe, and on the future.


Invasive science

Deep Impact

Comet Tempel

2005


Invasive science

NASA to capture an asteroid, tow it to lunar orbit

September 2013


The Environmentalist’s Paradox


What I’ve left out

• Weaponisation of space


• Planetary protection and law – COSPAR• What do we protect? Why?• … life? landscape? archaeology?• “The Overprotection of Mars” • Terraforming – good, bad, obligatory, unavoidable?• Mining asteroids and the Moon – will law matter?• Invasive science • Mars One – human rights?• Colonising the universe – why?• Weaponisation of space

Summary


• Space ethics website http://spaceexploreethics.blogspot.ie/

• Blog (“Things that have interested me”)http://peterhousehold.blogspot.com/

• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/peter.household

• Twitter @peterhousehold

• Email [email protected]

• Mobile085-7082228

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ethics of space exploration lecture

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