Ethical issues of human enhancements for space missions to Mars and beyond

Abstract A human mission to Mars is planned by public and private agencies. It is broadly discussed and studied by scientists in such fields as medicine and aerospace engineering. Less attention is being paid by philosophers and ethicists, and social scientists as well. The aim of this paper is to discuss possible ethical challenges and issues, which may appear during a human mission to Mars. We focus our attention mostly on one issue – the idea of human enhancements for space missions. While our case study is mostly a mission to Mars, ethical issues around human enhancement for space are also relevant for other longer-term human expeditions, including Lunar missions, and beyond. Because the space environment is hazardous for humans, it can be expected that new ethical issues concerning the value of human life may appear.

[1]  J. Savulescu,et al.  The art of misunderstanding moral bioenhancement. , 2015, Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics : CQ : the international journal of healthcare ethics committees.

[2]  A. Witze.  Old Mars rover finds signs of ancient water , 2014, Nature.

[3]  R. Zubrin.  Why We Earthlings Should Colonize Mars! , 2019, Theology and Science.

[4]  Konrad Szocik,et al.  Human enhancement in space missions: From moral controversy to technological duty , 2019, Technology in Society.

[5]  Murat Alp,et al.  Irradiation of Neurons with High-Energy Charged Particles: An In Silico Modeling Approach , 2015, PLoS Comput. Biol..

[6]  N. Kanas.  Humans in Space , 2015 .

[7]  B. Jakosky,et al.  Inventory of CO2 available for terraforming Mars , 2018, Nature Astronomy.

[8]  O. Kovalchuk,et al.  Vive la radiorésistance!: converging research in radiobiology and biogerontology to enhance human radioresistance for deep space exploration and colonization , 2015, Oncotarget.

[9]  L. Marino.  Humanity is not prepared to colonize Mars , 2019, Futures.

[10]  Christopher Ketcham.  Towards an ethics of life , 2016 .

[11]  Tony Milligan,et al.  Introduction: The Scope and Content of Space Ethics , 2016 .

[12]  Johann A. R. Roduit,et al.  Ideas of Perfection and the Ethics of Human Enhancement , 2015, Bioethics.

[13]  Caesar Voûte,et al.  Human development and the conquest of space , 1985 .

[14]  Kelly C. Smith.  The Curious Case of the Martian Microbes: Mariomania, Intrinsic Value and the Prime Directive , 2016 .

[15]  T. Milligan.  Common origins and the ethics of planetary seeding , 2016, International Journal of Astrobiology.

[16]  F. Cucinotta,et al.  Safe days in space with acceptable uncertainty from space radiation exposure. , 2015, Life sciences in space research.

[17]  K. Szocik.  Should and could humans go to Mars? Yes, but not now and not in the near future , 2019, Futures.

[18]  Douglas A. Vakoch,et al.  Responsibility, capability, and Active SETI: Policy, law, ethics, and communication with extraterrestrial intelligence , 2011 .

[19]  J. Savulescu,et al.  The Duty to be Morally Enhanced , 2017, Topoi.

[20]  Phil Torres.  Space colonization and suffering risks: Reassessing the “maxipok rule” , 2018, Futures.

[21]  Margaret Boone Rappaport,et al.  Changing the Paradigm on Human Enhancements: The Special Case of Modifications to Counter Bone Loss for Manned Mars Missions , 2019, Space Policy.

[22]  Patrick Lin,et al.  Ethics of Human Enhancement: 25 Questions & Answers , 2010 .

[23]  P. Goedhart,et al.  Can Plants Grow on Mars and the Moon: A Growth Experiment on Mars and Moon Soil Simulants , 2014, PloS one.

[24]  J. Sargent,et al.  Advanced Gene Editing: CRISPR-Cas9 , 2017 .

[25]  Christopher P. McKay,et al.  Perchlorate on Mars: a chemical hazard and a resource for humans , 2013, International Journal of Astrobiology.

[26]  James S.J. Schwartz,et al.  The Value of Science in Space Exploration , 2020 .

[27]  M. Fogg.  The Ethical Dimensions of Space Settlement , 2000 .

[28]  Béatrice Godard,et al.  Is Human Enhancement also a Personal Matter? , 2011, Science and Engineering Ethics.

[29]  J. Haqq‐Misra.  An ecological compass for planetary engineering. , 2012, Astrobiology.

[30]  Kelli Mars.  Space Radiation Risks , 2017 .

[31]  Seth D. Baum,et al.  Cost-Benefit Analysis of Space Exploration: Some Ethical Considerations , 2009 .

[32]  J. Schwartz.  On the Moral Permissibility of Terraforming , 2013 .

[33]  Brian Dunbar,et al.  Moon to Mars Overview , 2018 .

[34]  A. Hargens,et al.  Skeletal changes during and after spaceflight , 2018, Nature Reviews Rheumatology.

[35]  R. E. Marques,et al.  Biological and social challenges of human reproduction in a long-term Mars base , 2018, Futures.

[36]  D. Weintraub.  Life on Mars: What to Know Before We Go , 2018 .

[37]  S. Baum,et al.  Isolated refuges for surviving global catastrophes , 2015 .

[38]  L.A. Wickman,et al.  Human performance considerations for a Mars mission , 2006, 2006 IEEE Aerospace Conference.

[39]  Mark J Shelhamer,et al.  Psychological and biological challenges of the Mars mission viewed through the construct of the evolution of fundamental human needs , 2018, Acta Astronautica.

[40]  J. Savulescu,et al.  Autonomy and Enhancement , 2013, Neuroethics.

[41]  Michael P. Oman-Reagan.  Politics of planetary reproduction and the children of other worlds , 2019, Futures.

[42]  N. Bostrom,et al.  Human Enhancement Ethics: The State of the Debate , 2009 .

[43]  Francis A. Cucinotta,et al.  Space Radiation Risks for Astronauts on Multiple International Space Station Missions , 2014, PloS one.

[44]  Jacob Haqq-Misra,et al.  The Benefits and Harm of Transmitting Into Space , 2012, 1207.5540.

[45]  Koji Tachibana.  A Hobbesian qualm with space settlement , 2019, Futures.

[47]  Robert Cowley.  Yes, We Earthlings Should Colonize Mars if Martian Rights Can Be Upheld , 2019, Theology and Science.

[48]  Gary Daines,et al.  NASA's Journey to Mars , 2015 .

[49]  Alan Rubel,et al.  Four ethical priorities for neurotechnologies and AI , 2017, Nature.

[50]  Gregory Vogt.  Missions to Mars , 2018 .

[51]  Eugene C. Hargrove.  Beyond Spaceship Earth: Environmental Ethics and the Solar System, Eugene C. Hargrove. 1987. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, CA. 288 pages. Index. ISBN: 0-87156-768-7. $25.00 , 1987 .

[52]  M. Ćirković.  Enhancing a Person, Enhancing a Civilization: A Research Program at the Intersection of Bioethics, Future Studies, and Astrobiology , 2017, Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics.

[53]  F. Cucinotta.  A New Approach to Reduce Uncertainties in Space Radiation Cancer Risk Predictions , 2015, PloS one.

[54]  C. McKay,et al.  Planetary Ecosynthesis on Mars and Geo-Engineering on Earth: Can We? Should We? Will We? , 2011 .

[55]  M. Macauley.  Environmentally Sustainable Human Space Activities: Can Challenges of Planetary Protection be Reconciled? , 2007 .

[56]  Gary Beven.  NASA's Behavioral Health Support for International Space Station (ISS) Missions , 2012 .

[57]  M. Ćirković.  Space colonization remains the only long-term option for humanity: A reply to Torres , 2019, Futures.

[58]  R. Frodeman,et al.  Separated at Birth, Signs of Rapprochement: Environmental Ethics and Space Exploration , 2008 .

[59]  D. Green,et al.  The effect of long-term confinement and the efficacy of exercise countermeasures on muscle strength during a simulated mission to Mars: data from the Mars500 study , 2017, Sports Medicine - Open.

[60]  R. Wiens,et al.  Mars 2020 Mission Overview , 2020, Space Science Reviews.

[61]  Mark J Shelhamer,et al.  Why send humans into space? Science and non-science motivations for human space flight , 2017 .

[62]  C. McKay,et al.  Prerequisites to Human Activity on Mars: Scientific and Ethical Aspects , 2019, Theology and Science.

[63]  F. Kinnafick,et al.  Coping Strategies Used During an Extreme Antarctic Expedition , 2017 .

[64]  Non-Targeted Effects Models Predict Significantly Higher Mars Mission Cancer Risk than Targeted Effects Models , 2017, Scientific Reports.

[65]  N. Bostrom,et al.  Ethical issues in human enhancement , 2007 .

[66]  Olle Häggström,et al.  Here Be Dragons: Science, Technology and the Future of Humanity , 2016 .

[67]  J. Schwartz.  Near-Earth water sources: Ethics and fairness☆ , 2016 .

[68]  Konrad Szocik,et al.  Political and legal challenges in a Mars colony , 2016 .

[69]  F. Soldovieri,et al.  Radar evidence of subglacial liquid water on Mars , 2018, Science.

[70]  J. C. Cabral,et al.  Psychological changes arising from an Antarctic stay: systematic overview , 2013 .

[71]  Alberto Giubilini,et al.  The Ethics of Human Enhancement , 2015 .

[72]  I. Melo-Martín.  Defending human enhancement technologies: unveiling normativity , 2010 .

[73]  J. Haqq-Misra.  The transformative value of liberating Mars , 2014, 1404.2315.

[74]  C. Cockell.  The Ethical Status of Microbial Life on Earth and Elsewhere: In Defence of Intrinsic Value , 2016 .

[75]  Kelly C. Smith.  Homo reductio: Eco-nihilism and human colonization of other worlds , 2019, Futures.

[76]  G. Reitz,et al.  An Adaptive Response to Uncertainty Generates Positive and Negative Contrast Effects , 2014 .

[77]  J. Schwartz.  Prioritizing scientific exploration: A comparison of the ethical justifications for space development and for space science , 2014 .

[78]  P. Boffetta,et al.  Genital use of talc and risk of ovarian cancer: a meta-analysis , 2017, European journal of cancer prevention : the official journal of the European Cancer Prevention Organisation.

[79]  Vipan K. Parihar,et al.  Cosmic radiation exposure and persistent cognitive dysfunction , 2016, Scientific Reports.

[80]  S. H. Sternberg,et al.  Harnessing “A Billion Years of Experimentation”: The Ongoing Exploration and Exploitation of CRISPR–Cas Immune Systems , 2018, The CRISPR journal.