Space ethics: the final frontier
SPACE exploration is a fascinating frontier for science, but we need to consider its ethical, health and environmental implications, Deakin bioethicist Evie Kendal says.
Who owns objects in space? How do we protect the Earth from the biosecurity risks of space exploration? What are the ethics of establishing future colonies on other planets?
Dr Kendal is researching the emerging field of space ethics.
Her research is timely, given the Federal Government’s recent announcement of a $50 million commitment to establish Australia’s own space agency.
“Most people are unaware of the ethical issues that we need to consider in parallel with the technological developments concerning space,” Dr Kendal said.
“Although it might seem a long way off, asking whether it would be acceptable to terraform (transform) another planet to sustain human life, or what kinds of commercialisation might be ethically or legally permissible in space are questions that need to be considered.”
Dr Kendal is helping to pioneer the field of space ethics in Australia. She has a background in public health, , bioethics and feminist literary ary criticism.
With a PhD in bioethics and science fiction, and two master’s degrees (bioethics, and public health and tropical medicine), she brings a multi discip lin aryy perspective to her research. ch.
She is researching emerging technologies from a number of fronts, from space ethics to reproductive biotechnologies such as artificial wombs.
“While it will be some time before we have human colonies in space, there is an opportunity to draw boundaries in advance to prevent damage to space environments andovermilitarisation ,” she said.
“Frameworks are also needed to enable the benefits of space exploration to be shared equitably across the global population and to ensure human safety remains a priority.
“Promoting the health and safety of astronauts and people working in space-related industries, while also protecting the Earth from potential biosecurity and military threats, is really important.
“On the positive side, most space-related research is translated into beneficial scientific developments on Earth, many of which are in the area of advanced medical technology.”
Based in Deakin’s School of Medicine, Dr Kendal is currently designing a space ethics “massive open online course” (MOOC), in collaboration with several space research centres.
Since 2015, she has conducted bioethics seminars at Yale University’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Bioethics on spacerelated topics and is currently working with colleagues to develop ethical guidelines for space exploration and aero- space medicine, with the ultimate goal of establishing a global governing system that includes the UN.
“Australia has a lot of expertise and the potential to contribute more to the global space effort,” she said.
“Although space ethics is a very small field, with only a few international experts working in this area, I hope it grows as Australia’s commitment to space research does.”
A personal drawcard for her work is being able to tie speculations, such as those to do with time travel, to real-world ethical challenges.
“One of the best things about being an emerging technology ethicist is that you’re not limited by what is technically possible. You need to consider the ethical implications of developments if they do become possible,” she said.
“Human exploration on Earth in the past has often been destructive and exploitative, especially in terms of colonisation and displacement of Indigenous communities.
“An appreciation of space carries with it an appreciation of the fragility of life and our biosphere. Space ethics is not about what we can do now, or even what we might be able to do in the future. Rather, it’s about what we should or should not do and why.”
Dr Kendal will be presenting at a space ethics workshop at a NASA space apps event in Melbourne this weekend. moonshotspace.co/gemini-melbourne
NAT KERR