Space Ethics

Mai’a K. Davis Cross, John Basl, Gokce Altin Yavuzarslan, Brian Helmuth, Ryan Morhard, and Ann C. Thresher. “A Policy Framework for International Cooperation in Space Biotechnology.” 2025. Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs.

Abstract: Biotechnology is an indispensable tool for long-term human space exploration, especially if the goal is for humans to not only be able to survive in space, but to flourish. At the intersection of simultaneous advancements in both space and biotech is the capacity to engineer closed-loop space systems that generate food, oxygen, medicine, habitats, and other materials sustainably without having to bring everything from Earth. Future scientific, resource, and security benefits are tremendous, but there are also many ethical risks. In this report, a team of interdisciplinary experts in the fields of political science, international affairs, biotechnology, philosophy, ethics, environmental science, and chemistry, argue that deeper and deliberate international and transnational cooperation will be crucially important to expand space diplomacy and governance as the genomic and space revolutions collide.