Philosophical Issues in Space Science Seminar Series 2022: Martin Ward

Directed Panspermia or Dorum Vitae

The hypothesis that life was brought to Earth by means of some form of cosmic debris has been extensively discussed. Of course this does nothing to solve the problem of the origin of life since it merely kicks the can down the road. More recently there has been a related discussion of the possibility that we might decide to send some form of living material from the Earth towards extra-solar planetary systems. This prospect has huge implications in areas that are of ethical, moral, philosophical and religious importance. I will describe the technical challenges of such an endeavour, and the chances of successfully injecting sustainable life onto an extrasolar planet. Then I will open up the big question of should it be done? An interesting adjunct to this is the point that if it can be done, if not by national actors, then it could be done by “lone wolf” billionaires.

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