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?
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
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
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Law in space?
Ethics in space
• What's permissible
• What's obligatory
• What's prohibited
on the part of moral agents
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Law in space?
Law and Metalaw
Attorney Andrew G. Haley in 1956
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
“ 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
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Law in space?
1967 Outer Space Treaty
Freedom of use and exploration International law
International co-operationPeaceful purposes
Environmental protectionNon-appropriation of space
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Asteroid mining
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
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
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Asteroid mining
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Asteroid mining
http://www.planetaryresources.com/ http://deepspaceindustries.com/
“international law” ?? “treaty” ??? “ethics” ????
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
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
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
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
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Rhododendrons at the Vee, Co Tipperary
An invasive species
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Planetary protection
forward planetary protection backward planetary protection
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
“ 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.
Planetary protection
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
The “Overprotection of Mars” debate
Planetary protection
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Planetary protection
forward planetary protection• heating spacecraft to kill microbes
• sterilised parts in protective wrappings • protective gear for workers
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
NASA's Curiosity rover Operator in
clean-room garb tests the wheels
Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
Planetary protection
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Planetary protection
forward planetary protection
• trajectory biasing • quarantine orbits • Mars Pathfinder 1997
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Planetary protection
Special regions on Mars
Recurring slope lineae
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Planetary protection
Special regions on Mars
Recurring slope lineae
Terrestrial life might survive
What minimum temperature?
Current definition - 25°C
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Planetary protection
… what about humans on Mars ?
Catharine A. Conley NASA planetary protection officer
"a race against time"
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Planetary protection
Alberto G. Fairen, Department of Astronomy, Cornell University. Credit: Cornell University
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Planetary protection
NATURE GEOSCIENCE | VOL 6 | JULY 2013 |
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
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 ….
Planetary protection
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
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.”
Planetary protection
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Planetary protection
Committee On Space Research (COSPAR)
Expanding the knowledge frontier of space for the benefit of humankind
created 1958
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Planetary protection
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 …”
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Planetary protection
Grand Canyon : US National Park + UNESCO World Heritage Site
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Planetary protection
Cape St Vincent, one of the cliffs of Victoria crater, Mars
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
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
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Terraforming
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
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 ?
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
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?
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
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?
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Mars One
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
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
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Mars One
”
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Mars One
Dr Joseph Roche
“drastically curtailed”
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Mars One
”
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Space archaeology
Buzz Aldrin salutes the US flag, 1969 (Wikipedia)
Footprints in foreground
How long will they last?
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Space archaeology
Space archaeologist Beth O'Leary
A national heritage site protecting the Apollo lunar landing site.
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Space archaeology
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
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. ”
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
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
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
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)
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Humans in space
(8) Preserving the human species(9) Back-up biosphere(10) Stewardship model
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
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
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
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.
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Invasive science
Deep Impact
Comet Tempel
2005
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
Invasive science
NASA to capture an asteroid, tow it to lunar orbit
September 2013
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
The Environmentalist’s Paradox
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
What I’ve left out
• Weaponisation of space
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
• 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
Peter Household – the ethics of space exploration
• 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]
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