The ethics of space

Space: 1° Usual abbreviated form of outer space. 2° Domain of human activities related to outer space. As underlined by this definition proposed by the Dictionnaire de Spatiologie of the Conseil international de la langue française, space is no longer just a place that begins 100 km above the earth's surface, to follow the now-accepted proposal of Theodore von Karman; it is also what humans do there and with it. This technical dimension of space began with the launch of the first Soviet Sputnik on October 4, 1957, and has continued ever since with programs to explore and use space, thanks to the commitment of a growing number of national powers and, now, private players. There are still many technological steps to be taken, and many challenges to be met. However, the physical characteristics and dimensions of space, while sometimes seeming to exceed the capacity of human senses and intelligence to apprehend and understand it, make it, and probably will remain for a long time to come, a horizon rather than a frontier for human curiosity, conquest and enterprise.

Those who work in the space industry, usually out of passion and personal choice, have a duty to practice and respect the ethical rules specific to their field of expertise and responsibility, rules they often share with their colleagues in other technical fields. However, because space offers not only those involved in it, but humanity as a whole, an ultimate frontier to cross, a singular horizon to attempt to reach, and because it requires us to constantly overcome physical, psychological and technical frontiers, is it not appropriate to envisage an ethic that would be specific to space activities as such? In other words, a philosophical interrogation, a questioning of the purpose and meaning, the means and consequences of this enterprise which, after more than half a century of development, retains an uncommon character?

All fields of engineering could benefit from such a reflection, based on the cultural and social background of space activities, their history and the specific issues they address.