Chris Impey - Encountering Life in the Universe: Ethical Foundations and Social Implications of Astrobiology

Astrobiology is the study of life's relationship to the rest of the cosmos. Its major themes include the origin of life and its precursor materials, the evolution of life on Earth, its future prospects on and off the Earth, and the occurrence of life elsewhere. Behind each of these themes is a multi-disciplinary set of questions involving physics, chemistry, biology, geology, astronomy, planetology, and other fields, each of which connects more or less strongly to the central questions of astrobiology. Stimulated by new capabilities for scientific exploration on and off the Earth, astrobiology is establishing itself as a distinct scientific endeavor.

To what extent does progress in astrobiology stimulate social, cultural, and ethical issues? The grand questions, such as whether we are alone in the cosmos, or what would happen to humankind were we to encounter an advanced extraterrestrial civilization, have been debated in one form or another for centuries. But the issues are becoming more focused and more imperative as the science advances. To what extent should we permit ourselves to profoundly modify alien landscapesfrom the surface of the Moon to the nuclei of cometsin search of the answers to scientific questions? Is exploration of Mars worth the risk of exposing humankind to potentially novel and lethal organisms that might be returned in samples? Equally, is such exploration worth the risk of contaminating Marsor any other potentially inhabited planetary bodywith terrestrial organisms that might be lethal to indigenous life? Do we have the right to seed life on previously uninhabited worlds? If there exists life on Earth whose origin is demonstrably separate from our own, do we have a moral obligation toprotect it? Should governments restrict the rights of individuals to broadcast messages into space if and when artificially generated radio signals from another planetary system are discovered? Is it ethical to create an artificial life-form in seeking to understand the origin of life? How might scientific findings about the commonality or singularity of Earth as an inhabited world affect the outlook of diverse human cultures? How do we determine and respond to the moral status of extraterrestrial life?

This collection of essays presents in a single volume the key social, cultural, and ethical issues raised by astrobiological research. Its treatment of the cultural issues is remarkably broad. Contributions range from philosophical questions about the origin of self-organization in the cosmos to practical ethical issues associated with cross-contamination of Earth and other bodies in our Solar System. The collection grew out of a workshop, Astrobiology: Expanding Our Views of Society and Self, held in May 2008 at the University of Arizona's Biosphere 2 Institute. There, invited experts deliberated in the shadow of the Biosphere 2 artificial ecosystem facility, surrounded by the high Sonoran Desert and the sky islands of southern Arizonaone of the world's most diverse and beautiful ecosystems.

At the conclusion of the workshop the participants agreed on a joint statement regarding the need for international consideration of the basis for planetary protection, specifically to broaden the basis of planetary protection from simply the preservation of future science exploration to consideration of ethical issues raised by possible alternative types of life. Attendees signed and submitted the resolution to the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Planetary Protection Panel of the International Council for Science. In 2010 the COSPAR Bureau held an international workshop to discuss ethical issues and planetary protection.

This volume reflects novel insights into, and new connections between, scientific research in astrobiology and ethical, social, and philosophical problems. Its chapters will serve as an important resource for thoughtful solutions to the ethical, social, and philosophical challenges that will inevitably arise from further advances in astrobiological scientific research.

Jonathan I. Lunine
Anna H. Spitz