Abstract
Space colonization is an inevitable reality, with time as its only obstacle. While innovations in this direction are generally viewed as a positive advancement in humanity’s long-term future, crucial ethical concerns are often forgotten in common discourse. Before humanity makes further strides toward being an interplanetary species, the ethics of the ownership of land and resources in space, the fair allocation of resources, and the violation of any rights must be analyzed. If humanity insists upon moving forward with space colonization, numerous aspects must be reconsidered to ensure a morally proper and ethical operation.
Introduction
Space colonization, or the notion of humans eventually settling on other planets, has been prevalent in science fiction for almost as long as the genre has existed. In 1869, author Edward Everette Hale wrote the novel Brick Moon, in which humans accidentally launch into space and eventually settle permanently on the moon, creating the first space colony [1]. Stories set in galaxies “far, far away” are now a staple in the sci-fi genre, but the notion of humans living on other planets may not be categorized as ‘fiction’ for much longer. With recent technological advances in the space industry and a growing understanding of the extra-terrestrial, humanity now has the means to turn space colonization from fiction into reality. Despite the fast-paced innovation in the space industry, the potential ethical ramifications of humanity going interplanetary must be acknowledged. The dream of space settlement creates unjust and undesirable situations for humanity, the environment, and possibly extra-terrestrial life forms.
Humanity’s Current Presence in Space
Space colonization has the potential to save humanity and its future generations from the inevitable end of life on Earth [2]. Space represents a final frontier; it is one of the only ways to ensure humanity’s long-term survival amidst the overconsumption of the Earth’s resources. With global crises such as climate change and the loss of habitable land threatening life on Earth, establishing life on a new planet within the limitless universe would provide another chance for humankind to flourish. This idealized mindset exists throughout the space industry, with one of NASA’s official goals being the eventual establishment of a habitable environment on Mars [3]. Over the last couple of decades, more countries than ever have invested in the advancement of their space programs. It follows that this heightened advancement serves, at least in part, to further space colonization. As of 2023, the Chinese, Russian, and American space agencies have all successfully achieved human spaceflight, with other countries nearing this goal.
While technology is still developing, there have been positive signs that humanity is heading in the “right” direction. One such sign is NASA’s Artemis I, an unmanned lunar orbiting mission launched in November 2022 that marks NASA’s return to lunar exploration [4]. Another sign lies in the explosive growth of the private space industry in the United States and the emergence of private space tourism [5]. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, and Stephen Hawking, the renowned cosmologist, have all publicly supported space settlements and the eventual industrialization of the Moon and Mars. While Bezos takes the stance that moving heavy industries off-planet is necessary to preserve the Earth’s resources, Musk and Hawking dream of human settlement on Mars to ensure the preservation of human existence in the case of a catastrophe [6]. Additionally, renewed interest in the space industry reveals heightened public interest. A 2018 poll found that 32% of Americans believed that stable and liveable space settlements would be a reality by 2068, and 50% were convinced that space tourism would become standard [5]. This renewed focus on human spaceflight may offer a glimpse into humanity’s long-term future as intergalactic dwellers on the Moon and beyond.
Despite all these innovations, the socio-political aspects of space colonization have not yet been addressed. For instance, the world’s nations still disagree over the right for individual countries or private companies to create exclusive zones on other planets. In 2020, the United States and nine other nations negotiated an agreement allowing for the creation of private zones, while China, Russia, and India condemned the agreement [7]. These disagreements indicate that the geo-political scene in space would mirror the mistrust and competitiveness of the nations on Earth.
Right now, it seems as if the world is engaged in a cutthroat, winner-takes-all race to colonize Mars. Aside from the disputes of individual countries, the issue of space colonization impacts humanity in its entirety. The issues of whether space colonization is in humanity’s collective best interest, whether it disproportionately benefits or harms any groups, and whether it infringes on any rights belonging to a living or non-living entity must be discussed. The future of space colonization can be evaluated through the ethical frameworks of utilitarianism, virtue ethics, environmental ethics, and the ethics of justice and fairness.
The Utilitarian Approach
Utilitarianism is a consequentialist school of thought that believes in maximizing happiness or utility. According to utilitarianism, the action that produces the greatest good for the greatest number is always the correct choice. While measuring the aggregate happiness produced by different outcomes may be impractical, it provides a relatively simple framework to answer morally challenging problems– such as those surrounding space colonization. The overarching argument in favor of space colonization is that it may mitigate potential existential risks toward humans. From meteors striking the Earth to the uncontrollable rise of artificial superintelligence, these existential risks could manifest in any form. Establishing sustainable settlements in outer space reduces these existential risks since the proverbial eggs are no longer in the same basket [8].
However, a large amount of resources would need to be diverted to establish a viable space colony capable of surviving without the support of humanity on Earth. Instead of being used to create a new home in space, these resources could be used to address existing problems on Earth. Therefore, the benefit of spending resources to make Earth more liveable, even for a short amount of time, must be weighed against the damages caused by either delaying space colonization or spending resources to push up the timeline of its development. With this in mind, it becomes clear that the benefit of investing in the Earth is much greater than the harm caused by not colonizing space. The early phases of space colonization would do little in terms of mitigating existential risks, while improving the overall quality of life on Earth would positively impact more humans in the same timeframe. Despite the undeniable benefit of the innovations that would be borne out of space colonization, the probability of success is likely to be small. Thus, the utilitarian approach would recommend that humanity direct its resources to tackle problems on Earth rather than pursue the goal of settling on another planet.
The Rights and Environmental Ethics Approach
According to rights-based ethics, any chosen course of action must protect individual and societal rights. This philosophy prioritizes the rights of each individual, regardless of the aggregate good produced. Environmental ethics extends the idea of preserving rights to the natural habitat of the Earth, and maintains that acts that violate any rights held by animals, trees, or even entire ecological systems are inherently unethical. Traditionally, these moral schools of thought are distinct from one another, but complement each other in the case of space colonization. Therefore, under these frameworks, it is paramount to determine if humanity has the right to live on another planet.
So far, space has existed beyond the realm of ethical discourse. However, ethics must adapt to encompass potential interaction with the extra-terrestrial, just as they once expanded to include humanity’s relationship with nature [9]. Like Earth, other planets and their residents have an inherent right to preservation. Space colonization involves extracting resources from other celestial bodies, yet the right to own these resources remains undecided. While the United Nations Outer Space Treaty provides some guidelines, it is only meant to protect human lives and scientific evidence of alien life, not alien ecosystems [10]. Furthermore, these are only guidelines, not laws. There exists no mutually agreed set of rules and regulations that discuss conflicts in space or address the topic of ownership.
There are also significant risks associated with dealing with uncharted habitats. For instance, it is possible that microbial life will react or grow if transferred from the Earth to other habitats. While safety practices may be put in place to mitigate these effects, it is impossible to prepare for unforeseen circumstances. For example, when traveling to the Moon, humans did not competently restrict material transfer, which would have had adverse consequences if the Moon had not been lifeless [10]. If microscopic bacteria were given sudden access to uncontaminated resources, they would grow at an uncontrollable rate and potentially destroy entire planetary ecosystems.
Additionally, humanity’s treatment of the Earth demonstrates that humans have no right to colonize other planets [2]. Even with the best intentions, past behavior indicates that humanity may destroy another planet. Instead, humanity should take responsibility for protecting the Earth before simply moving to another planet. Otherwise, the colonization of another planet would simply be the result of an escapist and colonialist mindset. For space colonies to have an ethical relationship with their new ecosystems, humanity should first focus on developing its current relationship with the Earth’s natural resources.
The Virtue Ethics Approach
Virtue ethics stress the development of moral character over the adherence to rules or the pursuit of particular goals. Attributed to Aristotle’s ideals, virtue ethics state that proper action naturally follows an emphasis on personal virtue. One such virtue is courage, or strength in the face of pain or danger. Under this approach, courage is considered to be the midpoint between cowardice and recklessness [11]. While space colonization could be thought of as an action that cultivates courage, it falls closer to recklessness. It is not virtuous to spend great sums of money, time, and human lives to chase an ambition without weighing its risks and benefits. Humanity must be careful not to mistake heedlessness for heroism. Additionally, space “colonization” has connotations of human domination over the alien environment. A colonial mindset could lead to the further exploitation of extra-terrestrial rights. To determine if space colonization is indeed virtuous, the intentions and expectations behind colonization must be revealed.
Conversely, the pursuit of knowledge may take precedence over courage when deciding the virtues of space colonization. Space colonization provides a means to advance human knowledge and generate resources that improve the quality of life on Earth. In this case, establishing space settlements may indeed be virtuous. However, this also involves the seizure of territory and exploitation of extra-terrestrial resources. It is crucial to point out that virtue ethics, unlike the previous approaches, is context-sensitive rather than absolutist. Instead of simply either endorsing or rejecting the idea, virtue ethics is likely to take a nuanced approach to the issue. Regardless of the nuance, an ongoing ethical reflection and dialogue regarding the issue of space colonization must be reached.
The Justice and Fairness Approach
The Justice and Fairness framework believes in upholding the principles of justice above all else. This approach links ethical actions to an equitable, not equal, outcome for all affected parties [12]. In this sense, injustice involves the unequal treatment of a group or individual based on arbitrary characteristics out of their control. The justice and fairness approach would ensure that the benefits and harms of space colonization impact societal groups in equitable ways.
Today, humanity is engaged in a space race driven by national prestige, competing for the chance to obtain rare resources and own territory in space [13]. Countries including the United States, China, India, and Japan have entered a fierce contest to develop space technology, which has worsened the already alarming levels of geo-political tension on Earth. Wealthy countries have increased investment in their space programs to improve their chances of winning the race. However, while the privileged few fight to establish their interplanetary dominance, the lesser-developed countries are left out of this opportunity. Almost all of the billions of dollars spent worldwide on space research come from a handful of countries. As of 2022, the U.S. held the world’s heftiest space budget [14]. Such concentration in technological prowess results in an imbalance between wealthier nations and lower-income countries. If governments are not rich enough to set up their own colonies, their citizens would need visas for space travel [15]. These future generations might be stranded on a dying Earth while those from wealthier countries prosper in a new habitat. Additionally, such segregation would lead to further disparities in resources available to developed vs. developing countries. Space colonization could become yet another instrument perpetuating systemic injustice.
These inequities would be pervasive, not only between competing countries, but also between the citizens within each country. The United States has delegated commercialization jurisdiction to private companies with the funds available to keep the country ahead in the space race. For example, in 2021, NASA called for private companies to help develop technologies that advance NASA’s goals [16]. While these tactics increase investment in the industry, they also concentrate power and resources in the hands of a few – an unethical ramification of capitalism as a market system. Privatizing space exploration prevents marginalized communities from having equitable access. Driving their profit margin, private corporations sell services at a price affordable only to the wealthy. Private companies are also incentivized to cut costs, which could lead to significant risks being ignored when combined with the lack of accountability. Without strict guidelines dictating the standards which private companies must uphold, a privatized space sector would only make for a more inequitable future for humans.
The Bottom Line
While space colonization has a range of potential benefits, humanity must recognize its consequences and examine the ethicality of their intentions. Perhaps instead of chasing space exploitation, conquest, and colonization, humanity should redirect its focus to the discovery of new knowledge or invest instead in solving problems that will have a more immediate impact on human lives. Assuming space colonization is an inevitable future, a set of explicit and binding laws must be created to govern humanity’s interaction with the space environment. Without acknowledging these ethical potholes, humanity may eventually become a virus that jumps from planet to planet, destroying their habitats one at a time.
By Nakul Malik, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, University of Southern California
About the Author
At the time of writing this paper, Nakul Malik was a sophomore at the University of Southern California pursuing a degree in Economics with a minor in Consumer Behavior. He worked as a Supplemental Instruction Leader in Dornsife and enjoyed playing soccer.
References
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Links for Further Reading
The Ethics of Sending Humans to Mars
A comparison between space colonization and colonial colonization.
Unpacks the moral ambiguities of colonizing space without the proper knowledge.