Out There No One Has a Right to Die

The eventual goal of space exploration is to colonize exoplanets and their moons outside our solar system. This is a dangerous and immoral endeavour. The extraterrestrial life forms encountered would be hostile, vulnerable or both, and the descendants of the original pioneers would be involuntarily exposed to hazardous conditions and totalitarian regimes. They would have little or no control over their lives, reproduction, or death. Even in the unlikely event that homo sapiens, the species responsible for degrading its own home planet, could be expected to fare better in a new habitat in the future, the sacrifices thrust upon the non-consenting interim generations would be ethically unacceptable.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Bioethics
Published
2026-01-21
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.70083
Primary Topic
Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Out There No One Has a Right to Die

Matti Häyry
Bioethics
Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life
article

Out There No One Has a Right to Die

Matti Häyry
article en

Abstract

The eventual goal of space exploration is to colonize exoplanets and their moons outside our solar system. This is a dangerous and immoral endeavour. The extraterrestrial life forms encountered would be hostile, vulnerable or both, and the descendants of the original pioneers would be involuntarily exposed to hazardous conditions and totalitarian regimes. They would have little or no control over their lives, reproduction, or death. Even in the unlikely event that homo sapiens, the species responsible for degrading its own home planet, could be expected to fare better in a new habitat in the future, the sacrifices thrust upon the non-consenting interim generations would be ethically unacceptable.

Bioethics
Aalto University (FI)
Openalex Percentile: Top 79%
Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.