{"title":"Bioethical Issues in Human Modification for Protection against the Effects of Space Radiation","authors":"Konrad Szocik , Martin Braddock","doi":"10.1016/j.spacepol.2022.101505","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Protection against the effects of space radiation poses great technical and medical challenges for future human missions and is of interparliamentary concern requiring alignment of multiple scientific, clinical, and ethical parameters. In our article, we highlight the inadequacy of current countermeasures, which may justify the use of human enhancement (HE), or biomedical technologies to increase astronaut protection from the harmful space environment, protect lifespan longevity and increase the chance of survival during spaceflight or as colonists on other worlds. The deleterious effects of space radiation on the human body may justify even the most radical forms of HE, which may incorporate gene editing. As a thought experiment, we propose that an ethical assessment should depend on the anchor and purpose of the mission and we discuss differences and similarities between the bioethics of space missions and military ethics on Earth.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":45924,"journal":{"name":"Space Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0000,"publicationDate":"2022-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265964622000315/pdfft?md5=c89a4b3c6418c5ace5b6ebd47f424b18&pid=1-s2.0-S0265964622000315-main.pdf","citationCount":"2","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Space Policy","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265964622000315","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 2
Abstract
Protection against the effects of space radiation poses great technical and medical challenges for future human missions and is of interparliamentary concern requiring alignment of multiple scientific, clinical, and ethical parameters. In our article, we highlight the inadequacy of current countermeasures, which may justify the use of human enhancement (HE), or biomedical technologies to increase astronaut protection from the harmful space environment, protect lifespan longevity and increase the chance of survival during spaceflight or as colonists on other worlds. The deleterious effects of space radiation on the human body may justify even the most radical forms of HE, which may incorporate gene editing. As a thought experiment, we propose that an ethical assessment should depend on the anchor and purpose of the mission and we discuss differences and similarities between the bioethics of space missions and military ethics on Earth.
期刊介绍:
Space Policy is an international, interdisciplinary journal which draws on the fields of international relations, economics, history, aerospace studies, security studies, development studies, political science and ethics to provide discussion and analysis of space activities in their political, economic, industrial, legal, cultural and social contexts. Alongside full-length papers, which are subject to a double-blind peer review system, the journal publishes opinion pieces, case studies and short reports and, in so doing, it aims to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and opinions and a means by which authors can alert policy makers and international organizations to their views. Space Policy is also a journal of record, reproducing, in whole or part, official documents such as treaties, space agency plans or government reports relevant to the space community. Views expressed in the journal are not necessarily those of the editors or members of the editorial board.