Beyond planetary protection: What is planetary sustainability and what are its implications for space research?

Sustainable development: in space as on Earth?

“…But there can be no doubt: if we ever should encounter other lifeforms that could be described as real ‘persons’, they would undeniably have personal and collective rights. If space travel should become an option or even a necessity one day, we will also face the difficult question of which species to take along and how to safeguard their rights and interests.Coming back to the SDGs we mentioned in the Introduction and that for now rally the international efforts for sustainable development, would it be helpful to introduce an additional 18th SDG (Galli & Losch, 2019) in order to make sure that these important questions are adequately taken into account when discussing human activities transcending Planet Earth? Based on our understanding of CST, we are convinced that we does not need a new set of ethical principles to guarantee justice or sustainability in space.…”

“…The main contribution of CST to the idea of sustainable development is not so much about what exactly should be done, but mainly how and why as many people as possible – potentially all, without exclusion – should participate, contribute and share in the benefits of development. Thus, a potential 18th SDG, as recommend by a growing number of scientist (Galli & Losch, 2019), should not only lay out new rules for activities transcending Earth, but also serve as a reminder of the basic human principles that respect and foster life (and all rights connected to it), encourage subsidiarity and strive to attain the best possible amount of human freedom and solidarity. Its function would be to summarize the central principles of true sustainable development and to underline their relevance for all newly arising challenges, such as the need for sustainable and fair use of outer space.…”

“…Coming back to the SDGs we mentioned in the Introduction and that for now rally the international efforts for sustainable development, would it be helpful to introduce an additional 18th SDG (Galli & Losch, 2019) in order to make sure that these important questions are adequately taken into account when discussing human activities transcending Planet Earth? Based on our understanding of CST, we are convinced that we does not need a new set of ethical principles to guarantee justice or sustainability in space.…”

Planetary sustainability collection

“…Nevertheless, "The current COSPAR Planetary Protection Policy addresses scientific space exploration only and is primarily concerned with the issue of contamination with micro-organisms. Other impacts of human space exploration that may be detrimental to space exploration itself are not covered" (Galli & Losch, 2019).…”

“…What is missing within the SDG discourse is an appreciation of our space environment as a somewhat threatened and, most of all, limited domain. This is why the idea has been proposed to establish an 18th ‘space environment’ SDG, for facilitating discussions on the topic (Galli & Losch, 2019). It “should not only lay out new rules for activities transcending Earth, but also serve as a reminder of the basic human principles that respect and foster life (and all rights connected to it), encourage subsidiarity and strive to attain the best possible amount of human freedom and solidarity,” as Catholic social teaching would argue (Wallacher et al , 2019).…”