The Moon landings of the Apollo programme redefined humanity’s existence on 20 July 1969. This marked the first time humans had set foot on a celestial body other than Earth, irrevocably transforming the scope of human existence and the latent considerations of space colonisation. One must consider a plethora of important decisions regarding space exploration. The ethical framework provides guidelines for what is fundamentally right and wrong regarding human resolves in space. Geoengineering, the large scale application of technology on a climate system raises many ethical issues to be addressed. Humans are the first organisms to deliberately modify Earth albeit negatively with evidence of present-day global warming, resulting in scientific
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The observation of extremophiles proves the remarkable persistence of life in harsh and forbidding environments, existing under extremely high pressures and temperatures near hydrothermal vents. Such discoveries provide hope in finding life in the severe Martian environment, whether present or past. Many ethicists debate the moral status of microbial communities in consideration of space exploration because such activities could affect organisms on other planetary systems. The ambiguity of where humanity stands in the spectrum of life still calls upon ethical decisions, imperative to the preservation and valuation of nature. Jacob Haqq-Misra developed a system for comparing environmental ethical frameworks, providing a visual method of “analysing how different ethical frameworks value organisms, environments, planetary systems, and space.” This biospheric spectrum views the diversity of life on Earth according to qualities like intelligence, with the opposite being empty space. In the same scope, the quintessence of life we are aware of would be regarded as humans, followed by macroscopic life, microscopic life, and abiotic systems such as stars, planets and molecules. Further presupposed by Bostrom, it would be arrogant to assume humanity is the pinnacle of intelligence, whereby it is certainly possible that life outside of …show more content…
Terraforming is the use of planetary engineering techniques to alter the environment of a planet in order to improve the chances of survival of an indigenous biology or to allow the habitation of most, if not all, terrestrial life forms (McKay 1990). The mechanics of terraforming involves warming the Martian climate by releasing carbon dioxide or other gases into the environment. This is the same process that warms Earth – the greenhouse effect, which in itself raises complex technological issues. Possibly the most complex ethical dilemma seen by biologists is the prospect of potential biochemical and ecological clashes between Earth and indigenous organisms on Mars. The introduction of alien species could lead inadvertently to significant adverse effects on the stability of the ecosystem. A preceding question raised by ethicists is whether life should belong on the terrestrial planet at all. Is there value in nature absent the presence of life? Should we preserve the natural state of the red planet, or might we have an ethical obligation to populate the universe? David Grinspoon likens the issue to a vacant lot that we have a moral obligation to bring life into: "Mars belongs to us (life) because this universe belongs to life" (Grinspoon 2004). The concept of terraforming does not receive
The observation of extremophiles proves the remarkable persistence of life in harsh and forbidding environments, existing under extremely high pressures and temperatures near hydrothermal vents. Such discoveries provide hope in finding life in the severe Martian environment, whether present or past. Many ethicists debate the moral status of microbial communities in consideration of space exploration because such activities could affect organisms on other planetary systems. The ambiguity of where humanity stands in the spectrum of life still calls upon ethical decisions, imperative to the preservation and valuation of nature. Jacob Haqq-Misra developed a system for comparing environmental ethical frameworks, providing a visual method of “analysing how different ethical frameworks value organisms, environments, planetary systems, and space.” This biospheric spectrum views the diversity of life on Earth according to qualities like intelligence, with the opposite being empty space. In the same scope, the quintessence of life we are aware of would be regarded as humans, followed by macroscopic life, microscopic life, and abiotic systems such as stars, planets and molecules. Further presupposed by Bostrom, it would be arrogant to assume humanity is the pinnacle of intelligence, whereby it is certainly possible that life outside of …show more content…
Terraforming is the use of planetary engineering techniques to alter the environment of a planet in order to improve the chances of survival of an indigenous biology or to allow the habitation of most, if not all, terrestrial life forms (McKay 1990). The mechanics of terraforming involves warming the Martian climate by releasing carbon dioxide or other gases into the environment. This is the same process that warms Earth – the greenhouse effect, which in itself raises complex technological issues. Possibly the most complex ethical dilemma seen by biologists is the prospect of potential biochemical and ecological clashes between Earth and indigenous organisms on Mars. The introduction of alien species could lead inadvertently to significant adverse effects on the stability of the ecosystem. A preceding question raised by ethicists is whether life should belong on the terrestrial planet at all. Is there value in nature absent the presence of life? Should we preserve the natural state of the red planet, or might we have an ethical obligation to populate the universe? David Grinspoon likens the issue to a vacant lot that we have a moral obligation to bring life into: "Mars belongs to us (life) because this universe belongs to life" (Grinspoon 2004). The concept of terraforming does not receive