If humans survive the Climate Crisis, our sun, Sol, will one day nova. Earth will no longer exist. Is it realistic to plan for space travel beyond Earth's atmosphere and beyond the Moon?
Earth's past has seen five extinctions that resolve the topic of life on Earth. We are currently in our sixth extinction. Does it matter if we travel to space? Deep space?
There needs to be a clear commitment by the country with a clear glide path for NASA. It isn't about balancing the national budget on the backs of a space program. It is about the future and the ethics society needs to find within it's commitment to the future.
I don't believe the astronauts should bear the burden of deciding the risk they face. There is no cutting corners and saying oops. The USA space program has never allowed margins of error to exist with the knowledge of the public. There were accidents along the way, but, never once did the American people know the dangers allowed to exist in the programs. The Shuttle program broke the nation's heart when we learned O-Rings caused ill fated outcomes.
It is not the right of any astronaut to decide the dangers they accept. It is the priority of a nation to be sure the dangers are faced and eliminated. There are missions beyond the Moon that can be conducted in short duration as we inch toward Mars, but, never do I see a mission that launches from Earth aimed at making it to Mars.
An artist's rendering of NASA's Space Launch System. (Image: Boeing)
Posted
By Amina Khan
Los Angeles Times
...“Long duration (click here) and exploration spaceflights (including extended stays on the ISS or exploration missions to an asteroid or Mars) will likely expose crews to levels of known risks beyond those allowed by current health standards,” according to the report led by Jeffrey Kahn of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, “as well as to a wide range of risks that are poorly characterized, uncertain and perhaps unforeseeable.”
The risks include radiation-induced cancers; loss of bone mass from long stints in zero gravity; nausea or fatigue from extreme radiation if astronauts get hit by a solar storm; and blurred vision. That’s just a short list of the health hazards that researchers are aware of. It’s also not counting the long-term psychological toll that dealing with stressful situations in a confined enclosure can take.
Among the report’s recommendations: Avoid harm by minimizing risk to astronauts. Missions should be valued for the benefits they provide. Make sure the benefits outweigh the risks enough for the mission to be worthwhile. Operate in a transparent and accountable way, and keep astronauts informed of the risks they face. Basically: Act in a responsible and transparent manner....
Earth's past has seen five extinctions that resolve the topic of life on Earth. We are currently in our sixth extinction. Does it matter if we travel to space? Deep space?
There needs to be a clear commitment by the country with a clear glide path for NASA. It isn't about balancing the national budget on the backs of a space program. It is about the future and the ethics society needs to find within it's commitment to the future.
I don't believe the astronauts should bear the burden of deciding the risk they face. There is no cutting corners and saying oops. The USA space program has never allowed margins of error to exist with the knowledge of the public. There were accidents along the way, but, never once did the American people know the dangers allowed to exist in the programs. The Shuttle program broke the nation's heart when we learned O-Rings caused ill fated outcomes.
It is not the right of any astronaut to decide the dangers they accept. It is the priority of a nation to be sure the dangers are faced and eliminated. There are missions beyond the Moon that can be conducted in short duration as we inch toward Mars, but, never do I see a mission that launches from Earth aimed at making it to Mars.
An artist's rendering of NASA's Space Launch System. (Image: Boeing)Posted
By Amina Khan
Los Angeles Times
...“Long duration (click here) and exploration spaceflights (including extended stays on the ISS or exploration missions to an asteroid or Mars) will likely expose crews to levels of known risks beyond those allowed by current health standards,” according to the report led by Jeffrey Kahn of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, “as well as to a wide range of risks that are poorly characterized, uncertain and perhaps unforeseeable.”
The risks include radiation-induced cancers; loss of bone mass from long stints in zero gravity; nausea or fatigue from extreme radiation if astronauts get hit by a solar storm; and blurred vision. That’s just a short list of the health hazards that researchers are aware of. It’s also not counting the long-term psychological toll that dealing with stressful situations in a confined enclosure can take.
Among the report’s recommendations: Avoid harm by minimizing risk to astronauts. Missions should be valued for the benefits they provide. Make sure the benefits outweigh the risks enough for the mission to be worthwhile. Operate in a transparent and accountable way, and keep astronauts informed of the risks they face. Basically: Act in a responsible and transparent manner....
“Long
duration and exploration spaceflights (including extended stays on the
ISS or exploration missions to an asteroid or Mars) will likely expose
crews to levels of known risks beyond those allowed by current health
standards,” according to the report led by Jeffrey Kahn of the Johns
Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, “as well as to a wide range of
risks that are poorly characterized, uncertain and perhaps
unforeseeable.”
The risks include radiation-induced cancers; loss of bone mass from long stints in zero gravity; nausea or fatigue from extreme radiation if astronauts get hit by a solar storm; and blurred vision. That’s just a short list of the health hazards that researchers are aware of. It’s also not counting the long-term psychological toll that dealing with stressful situations in a confined enclosure can take.
Among the report’s recommendations: Avoid harm by minimizing risk to astronauts. Missions should be valued for the benefits they provide. Make sure the benefits outweigh the risks enough for the mission to be worthwhile. Operate in a transparent and accountable way, and keep astronauts informed of the risks they face. Basically: Act in a responsible and transparent manner.
- See more at: http://amestrib.com/news/nation/ethics-report-could-help-nasa-weigh-risks-long-term-space-travel#sthash.spQHufvo.dpuf
The risks include radiation-induced cancers; loss of bone mass from long stints in zero gravity; nausea or fatigue from extreme radiation if astronauts get hit by a solar storm; and blurred vision. That’s just a short list of the health hazards that researchers are aware of. It’s also not counting the long-term psychological toll that dealing with stressful situations in a confined enclosure can take.
Among the report’s recommendations: Avoid harm by minimizing risk to astronauts. Missions should be valued for the benefits they provide. Make sure the benefits outweigh the risks enough for the mission to be worthwhile. Operate in a transparent and accountable way, and keep astronauts informed of the risks they face. Basically: Act in a responsible and transparent manner.
- See more at: http://amestrib.com/news/nation/ethics-report-could-help-nasa-weigh-risks-long-term-space-travel#sthash.spQHufvo.dpuf
By Amina Khan
Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
Posted
