Space Exploration, Ethics, and the Lunar Environment

Introduction

The crash of an abandoned booster from a SpaceX rocket has sparked discussions about its unintended scientific benefits. Scientists anticipate that the impact site on the Moon will yield new insights into high-speed impacts on lunar surfaces. This event signifies another indirect instance of human-made artifacts being deposited on the Moon.

Historical Context and Settler Colonialism

Humanity has been sending objects to the Moon since the late 1950s. However, the recent crash raises concerns about how we perceive and interact with extraterrestrial environments. The language used in space exploration mirrors the logic behind the dispossession and exploitation of Indigenous lands on Earth, known as settler colonialism. A key concept is terra nullius, the idea that land considered unoccupied is open for taking. The Moon, perceived as a vast frontier, becomes a site where countries and companies leave remnants of their operations.

Corporate Influence and Space Ethics

As private entities like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos take a significant role in space exploration, the cosmos becomes a domain for the ultra-wealthy, operating with minimal oversight. This corporate approach often treats outer space as an experimental area, where ethical considerations are frequently dismissed. The Moon, devoid of human life, still demands responsible engagement.

Indigenous Perspectives and Ethical Responsibility

Ojibwe scholar Deondre Smiles, emphasizes the importance of viewing the Moon as a relational presence. This perspective aligns with many Indigenous views worldwide. Indigenous communities have consistently opposed unethical space engagements, such as commercial lunar burials and using the Moon for hazardous waste disposal. Their argument highlights that outer space should not be an unchecked canvas for human designs, but rather a relative that requires respectful treatment.

Integrating Science with Indigenous Knowledge

“Collaborations like those between NASA and the Navajo Nation illustrate that scientific inquiry and Indigenous ethics can be harmonized.”

The partnership involves conservation efforts and integrating scientific and Indigenous knowledge, countering the narrative that Indigenous opposition is anti-science. The central issue lies not in space exploration itself but in the approach and governance of these activities.

The Call for Ethical Stewardship

Abandoning rocket boosters on the Moon offers little scientific merit compared to natural meteorite impacts that occur without human-made debris. In an era where Earth grapples with environmental crises attributed to human impact, thoughtful space engagement is necessary. Exporting environmental negligence to the Moon hinders rather than advances human understanding.

Concluding Thoughts

Outer space exploration must involve international accountability and ethical stewardship. Allowing corporate interests to dictate cosmic governance is unsuitable. True progress requires including marginalized voices, particularly Indigenous communities and the Global South, in maintaining common stewardship of space.

Niiyokamigaabaw Deondre Smiles serves as Assistant Professor of Indigenous Studies at Bemidji State University. A member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, their research addresses Indigenous perspectives on human-environment interactions and space. They have penned works on colonialism and space, including a 2020 essay in Society+Space.