Ethics and the potential conflicts between astrobiology, planetary protection and commercial use of space
Persson, Erik LU
(2017)
In Challenges
8(12).
- Abstract
- A high standard of planetary protection is important for astrobiology, though the risk for contamination can never be zero. It is therefore important to find a balance. If extraterrestrial life has a moral standing in its own right, it will also affect what we have to do to protect it. The questions of how far we need to go to protect extraterrestrial life will be even more acute and complicated when the time comes to use habitable worlds for commercial purposes. There will also be conflicts between those who want to set a world aside for more research and those who want to give the green light for development. I believe it is important to be proactive in relation to these issues. The aim of my project is therefore to identify, elucidate,... (More)
- A high standard of planetary protection is important for astrobiology, though the risk for contamination can never be zero. It is therefore important to find a balance. If extraterrestrial life has a moral standing in its own right, it will also affect what we have to do to protect it. The questions of how far we need to go to protect extraterrestrial life will be even more acute and complicated when the time comes to use habitable worlds for commercial purposes. There will also be conflicts between those who want to set a world aside for more research and those who want to give the green light for development. I believe it is important to be proactive in relation to these issues. The aim of my project is therefore to identify, elucidate, and if possible, suggest solutions to potential conflicts between astrobiology, planetary protection, and commercial use of space. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1e90866a-0c89-482a-b9ab-9c5fd2d404c1
- author
- Persson, Erik
LU
- publishing date
- 2017
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Challenges
- volume
- 8
- issue
- 12
- pages
- 3 pages
- publisher
- MDPI AG
- ISSN
- 2078-1547
- DOI
- 10.3390/challe8010012
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- 1e90866a-0c89-482a-b9ab-9c5fd2d404c1
- date added to LUP
- 2019-05-29 16:58:27
- date last changed
- 2023-08-09 03:05:55
@article{1e90866a-0c89-482a-b9ab-9c5fd2d404c1,
abstract = {{A high standard of planetary protection is important for astrobiology, though the risk for contamination can never be zero. It is therefore important to find a balance. If extraterrestrial life has a moral standing in its own right, it will also affect what we have to do to protect it. The questions of how far we need to go to protect extraterrestrial life will be even more acute and complicated when the time comes to use habitable worlds for commercial purposes. There will also be conflicts between those who want to set a world aside for more research and those who want to give the green light for development. I believe it is important to be proactive in relation to these issues. The aim of my project is therefore to identify, elucidate, and if possible, suggest solutions to potential conflicts between astrobiology, planetary protection, and commercial use of space.}},
author = {{Persson, Erik}},
issn = {{2078-1547}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{12}},
publisher = {{MDPI AG}},
series = {{Challenges}},
title = {{Ethics and the potential conflicts between astrobiology, planetary protection and commercial use of space}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/challe8010012}},
doi = {{10.3390/challe8010012}},
volume = {{8}},
year = {{2017}},
}