Page 36 - 201002 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - February 2010

February 2010_june_july_2009.qxd 18/02/2010 9:04 AM Page 36 36 Ethics of Planetary Exploration The Ethics of Planetary Exploration and Colonization By Robert Lamb Humans are no strangers to ravaging the land, but the stars have proven a good deal more elusive. So far, our ethical concerns have remained limited to the contamination of extraterrestrial environments, but what will the future bring? Last night I attended a lecture by Jesuit Brother Guy J. Consolmagno, a U.S. research astronomer and planetary scientist at the Vatican Observatory. He gave a very engaging talk about the ethics of exploration and planetary astronomy, touching on two particularly noteworthy items: Asteroid Mining Can you put a price tag on an asteroid? Sure you can. We know of roughly 750 S-class asteroids with a diameter of at least 1 kilometer. Many of these pass as near to the Earth as our ethics of terraforming another planet. own moon -- close enough to reach via Specifically, Brother Consolmango spacecraft. As a typical asteroid is 10 percent mentioned the idea of taking material from a c- metal, Brother Consolmango estimates that class asteroid or a Martian moon and spreading such an asteroid would contain 1 billion metric it over Mars' pole caps. In theory, this feat tons of iron. That's as much as we mine out of would create the sort of drastic global warming the globe every year, a supply worth trillions we're hoping to avoid on Earth. Coated with and trillions of dollars. Subtract the tens of dust, the poles would then absorb even more billions it would cost to exploit such a rock, and solar radiation than before, causing them to heat you still have a serious profit on your hands. up and release carbon dioxide. Atmospheric But is this ethical? Brother pressure would increase. The resulting Consolmango asked us to ponder whether such greenhouse effect could possibly raise an asteroid harvest would drastically disrupt the temperatures to facilitate stabilized liquid water. formation in Mexico could be caused by a UFO economies of resource-exporting nations. What This could lead to lakes, oxygen and a wormhole. would happen to most of Africa? What would it successful seeding of plant life. Eventually, "AMAZING FOOTAGE shows what do to the cost of iron ore? And what about Arnold Schwarzenegger would be able to take may have been a U.F.O. ENTERING or refining and manufacturing? If we spend the his space helmet off without his eyeballs LEAVING our EARTH," the YouTube entry money to harvest iron in space, why not exploding. reads. outsource the other related processes as well? But what are the ethics of this (the "Location as stated on the original Imagine a future in which solar-powered robots terraforming, not the eyeball thing)? What if posting is that of MEXICO. Stand by for further toil in lunar or orbital factories. Mars already contains hidden life? Might the information." "On the one hand, it's great," Brother origins of life on Earth trail back to the red But going by some comments posted on Consolmango said. "You've now taken all of planet as well? Thoroughly contaminate the You Tube page, some viewers remain to be this dirty industry off the surface of the Earth. everything and we might erase all trace of what convinced. On the other hand, you've put a whole lot of was. And the past isn't the only thing potentially "I do believe the phenomenon you speak people out of work. If you've got a robot doing at stake. of is called a ... cloud." the mining, why not another robot doing the "Here's a deeper question," Brother The Mexico footage follows similar manufacturing? And now you've just put all of Consolmango said. "What if there is no life on unusual cloud formations which many claim are China out of work. What are the ethical Mars or Titan or some other place we're going to caused by UFOs. implications of this kind of major shift?" go to, but all the ingredients are there, such that Spectacular footage from Indonesia Brother Consolmango also stressed that at some future time life could exist. The shows clouds, formed in a dish shape, full of we have the technology to begin such a shift potentiality of life is there and, by terraforming sun. today; we'd just need the economic and political it, we're aborting that possibility. Under what The footage - filmed in January this year will to do it. Will our priorities change as Earth- circumstances is that an ethical thing to do?" - follows similar reports from Russia. bound resources become more and more scarce? Scientists say the unusual formations are Believe it or not - UFO Lenticular clouds, which form at high altitudes. Terraforming speculation ramps up Most of our planetary colonization dreams revolve around changing the www.heraldsun.com.au environments of other worlds to cater to our own astronomically particular needs. Seriously, UFO believers are claiming new footage imagine if the Smoking Gun posted humanity's released onto YouTube shows an extra- tour rider for visiting other worlds. What utter terrestrial object either entering or leaving divas we are! As the alternative of changing Earth. ourselves to inhabit other worlds is largely According to the anonymous researcher unexplored, we have to ponder the far-future who uploaded the video, the unusual cloud