Robots and Space Ethics

Abstract

As we begin our venture into space, issues with serious ethical implications deserve heightened scrutiny: among them are protection from space debris, hazardous asteroids, and other cosmic threats; planetary protection/quarantine and other safety and risk issues; protection of astronaut health; commercial and private sector activities in space, including tourism; and terraforming, colonization, and space settlements. The presumption that these activities require <italic>human</italic> astronauts is itself worthy of serious question; whether for reasons of cost, efficiency, or moral qualms, robots may be an ethically preferable choice to engage in most or perhaps even all of these activities. This chapter examines these issues and analyzes the moral case for robots, rather than human beings, filling the roles of space explorers, developers, miners, defenders, and settlers of the final frontier.