Space Ethics

Space exploration and colonization are topics with increasing popularity. As individuals such as Elon Musk continue to privatize the network and attempt to make a personal profit from it, the public side through NASA and the ISS is dwindling. What we need to do as a community is focus on protecting and preserving both Earth and space. In this essay, I describe the different forms of contamination and pollution that are a direct result of space exploration as well as the increasing cost of exploration as it shifts more towards a privatized industry. I also cover the effects space exploration has had on Earth's environment, the atmosphere, climate change, and how the media portrays it. Another key issue I discuss is space colonization and how it is an intriguing idea but not one we should yet pursue in the context it is currently being portrayed in. The lack of media attention in and around these issues is only driving home the concepts of privatization, when we should be leaning more towards the public sector in the long run in regards to ethics.