Is it ethical to change the ecosystems of other planets to suit human needs? What about mining precious metals? Or what happens if we contaminate another planet with microbes? These are some of the questions being asked by ethicists, who say the science of space ethics is still in its infancy. We explore the ethics of space exploration.
Ethics of Space Exploration
(Photo: Getty Images)
Guests:
Margaret Race, principal investigator at the Carl Sagan Ctr. for the Study of Life in the Universe at the SETI Institute
Margaret McLean, director of bioethics in the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University
Connie Bertka, program director at the Deep Carbon Observatory at the Carnegie Institute and editor of "Exploring the Origin, Extent, and Future of Life: Philosophical, Ethical and Theological Perspectives"
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