Space Tourism: Is it ethical?

Discovering and traveling to unexplored places has been one of the favorite past times of human beings. Whether it is across the continents, under the sea, or in the space above man has successfully developed the requisite technology to explore the unknown. The benefit lies with the awareness that comes with this exploration. To cite an example, it might be essential to study the flora and fauna inside the deep sea in order to take care that they might not face extinction. This is to say that our role in exploring the unknown should be limited to conserving the delicate balance in the environment.

However opening space to tourism puts a question mark on our desire to conserve nature. Recently, the US government has decided to issue license for a manned sub-orbital rocket. In simple terms, this decision will allow private individuals to undertake commercial space flights in years to come. On the face of it, this development signifies the technological progress made by man. However, the picture is not as rosy as it seems.

The number of people who can afford to holiday in space will not be much, but this cannot be taken as an excuse to disturb the ecological balance. The natural calamities that devastate us are often a result of the disturbances in the environment. These disturbances are often created by man himself. The ozone hole due to pollution is a perfect example. Thus by promoting tourism in space, the environment is bound to become more fragile.

The earth is full of beautiful tourist destinations, which need both money and attention to maintain their appeal. The earth has not yet lost its glory and never will. The nature should be left by itself and our intrusion into it should be limited. Our duty as sensible human beings is to conserve it.

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