Preface

Chapter 9 **Tumor Cells in Microgravity 139**

Bratislav Stankovic

Christian Laforsch

**the Moon 229** Laura Galdamez

**Planetary Bodies 209**

Chapter 14 **The Mortality of Space Explorers 253**

Robert J. Reynolds and Steven M. Day

Chapter 11 **Approaches to Assess the Suitability of Zooplankton for Bioregenerative Life Support Systems 171**

Chapter 12 **Are We Alone? The Search for Life on Mars and Other**

Miriam Knie, Bernard Wolfschoon Ribeiro, Jessica Fischer, Burkhard Schmitz, Kay Van Damme, Ruth Hemmersbach, Donat-P. Häder and

Stephanie A. Smith, Andrzej Paszczynski and Susan E. Childers

Chapter 13 **Exploring the Stratosphere: What We Missed by Shooting for**

Jun Chen

**VI** Contents

Chapter 10 **Plants in Space 153**

All living organisms on Earth are subject to the influence of gravity. This gravitational force has dictated their anatomy and physiology over millions of years, including that of human beings. Therefore, if humans were "dolls" made of modelling clay, the mould would be gravity.

Removing the effect of Earth's gravitational force alters all organic functioning. One of the first responses to space flight is the inability of the vestibular system to cope with the ab‐ sence of gravity and, consequently, body spatial orientation. A disease called space motion sickness, which is characterized by impairment of performance, nausea, vomiting and a dif‐ fuse malaise, occurs in astronauts and lasts for the first 72 hours of a space mission. In the weightless environment of space, a headward shift of blood and body fluids progressively happens over the course of weeks and deeply affects the cardiopulmonary and neuro-oph‐ thalmic systems, remodelling heart and lung function as well as vascular pressures in the brain and cardiovascular system. When astronauts return to Earth, the cardiovascular sys‐ tem, already adapted to microgravity, causes concern by succumbing to orthostatic intoler‐ ance and decreasing exercise aerobic capacity. In space, humans develop anaemia and the immune system is depressed, showing that weightlessness affects human physiology down to a cellular, even molecular, level.

In 3 to 5 days, the body begins to adapt to the space environment, and within 6 weeks, it starts to work in accordance with its new setting. Some systems, however, do not adapt fa‐ vourably. The mechanical unloading of muscles and bones in space affects the musculoske‐ letal system, causing significant atrophy, especially in the anti-gravitational groups of muscles in the back and legs. It is believed that the normal process of bone formation and resorption is disturbed, resulting in loss of bone mass, primarily in the lower body. The de‐ crease in bone mass is a huge concern, as the loss can range from 1% to 2% of total bone mass per month, impacting on astronauts' health, not only in space but also particularly af‐ ter their return to Earth.

At 27,000 km/h, a spacecraft completes an orbit around the Earth every 90 minutes, which affects the circadian rhythm of the astronaut. Seeing the world through a little window in‐ side the confines of a spacecraft obviously has implications for human psychology. Emotion‐ al issues related to isolation and confinement can also have a significant impact on crewmembers, a situation that is likely to be exacerbated by the increased duration and dis‐ tance from Earth that an interplanetary trip to Mars will bring. The concept of our finitude as a universal species becomes evident.

We benefit on Earth from the protection provided by the atmosphere and magnetic field of our planet, which shields us from much of the radiation present in outer space. However, when humans leave this cocoon, they become exposed to space radiation that can have dele‐ terious effects on numerous organs and systems, even putting the life of an astronaut in danger. The International Space Station sits just within the protective magnetic field in low Earth orbit, but even so, astronauts are exposed to levels of radiation that are ten times high‐ er than on Earth. Any future trip to Mars will be subject to even greater levels of radiation exposure, and this is a serious problem that is still to be solved.

This book presents and discusses some of these physiological, anatomical and cellular changes that happen to astronauts during short- or long-term space missions, which have been called space deconditioning. These body alterations alone or in combination, acute or chronic, can lead to in-flight undesirable health and operational consequences, especially if an emergency situation were to occur, or in the post-flight phase of a mission, when astro‐ nauts return to Earth, or even the moons or Mars, and have to readapt to a gravitational field. Other important aspects are also considered, such as the ethical and cultural issues related to manned spaceflights and the development of techniques and models related to the creation of safe extraterrestrial environments where human beings can live and work.

The book *Into Space*: *A Journey of How Humans Adapt and Live in Microgravity* will give an overview of the complexity of manned space flights, showing how interdisciplinary this subject is and discussing the challenges that space physiologists, physicians and scientists must face as humans seek to conquer the final frontier of space.

> **Professor Thais Russomano, MD, MSc, PhD** King's College London, UK

> > **Dr. Lucas Rehnberg, MBBS, BSc, MSc** University Hospital Southampton, UK

**Chapter 1**

Provisional chapter

**Reimagining Icarus: Ethics, Law and Policy**

Reimagining Icarus: Ethics, Law and Policy

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.74716

Sara M. Langston

Sara M. Langston

Abstract

1. Introduction

**Considerations for Commercial Human Spaceflight**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.74716

Commercial human spaceflight presents an area for engaging novel human activity and objectives, to include space exploration, entertainment, transportation and extraterrestrial resource acquisition. The inherent dangers and lack of scientific and medical certainty involved however raise interrelated questions of ethics, bioethics, law and public policy. This is particularly the case with spaceflight participant (SFP) screening, selection, and commercial human spaceflight activities where regulations are currently silent or lacking. In the absence of established law, ethics can play an important role by informing industry standards, policies and best practices. Understanding the fundamental ethical values at stake in the application of new technologies and societal opportunities therefore is a significant step in establishing a practical, moral and sustainable framework for human expansion into space. As the frequency and reliability of private human spaceflight activities advances, spaceflight is likely to take on the legal and ethical vestiges of common carriers, with distinct passenger rights and higher standards of care attributed to the launch operator as a common carrier. This chapter raises some of the complex issues and challenges that face the private spaceflight industry and that merit collaborative discussion across disciplines and the global space transportation community going forward.

Commercial human spaceflight presents a novel area for diverse human activity, whether conducted for exploration, entertainment, transportation or extraterrestrial resource acquisition. The inherent dangers and lack of scientific and medical certainty involved raise interrelated questions concerning ethics, bioethics and public policy, particularly in regard to

> © 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and eproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Keywords: ethics, bioethics, space medicine, space law, spaceflight

Considerations for Commercial Human Spaceflight

#### **Reimagining Icarus: Ethics, Law and Policy Considerations for Commercial Human Spaceflight** Reimagining Icarus: Ethics, Law and Policy Considerations for Commercial Human Spaceflight

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.74716

Sara M. Langston Sara M. Langston

terious effects on numerous organs and systems, even putting the life of an astronaut in danger. The International Space Station sits just within the protective magnetic field in low Earth orbit, but even so, astronauts are exposed to levels of radiation that are ten times high‐ er than on Earth. Any future trip to Mars will be subject to even greater levels of radiation

This book presents and discusses some of these physiological, anatomical and cellular changes that happen to astronauts during short- or long-term space missions, which have been called space deconditioning. These body alterations alone or in combination, acute or chronic, can lead to in-flight undesirable health and operational consequences, especially if an emergency situation were to occur, or in the post-flight phase of a mission, when astro‐ nauts return to Earth, or even the moons or Mars, and have to readapt to a gravitational field. Other important aspects are also considered, such as the ethical and cultural issues related to manned spaceflights and the development of techniques and models related to the creation of safe extraterrestrial environments where human beings can live and work.

The book *Into Space*: *A Journey of How Humans Adapt and Live in Microgravity* will give an overview of the complexity of manned space flights, showing how interdisciplinary this subject is and discussing the challenges that space physiologists, physicians and scientists

**Professor Thais Russomano, MD, MSc, PhD**

**Dr. Lucas Rehnberg, MBBS, BSc, MSc** University Hospital Southampton, UK

King's College London, UK

exposure, and this is a serious problem that is still to be solved.

VIII Preface

must face as humans seek to conquer the final frontier of space.

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.74716

#### Abstract

Commercial human spaceflight presents an area for engaging novel human activity and objectives, to include space exploration, entertainment, transportation and extraterrestrial resource acquisition. The inherent dangers and lack of scientific and medical certainty involved however raise interrelated questions of ethics, bioethics, law and public policy. This is particularly the case with spaceflight participant (SFP) screening, selection, and commercial human spaceflight activities where regulations are currently silent or lacking. In the absence of established law, ethics can play an important role by informing industry standards, policies and best practices. Understanding the fundamental ethical values at stake in the application of new technologies and societal opportunities therefore is a significant step in establishing a practical, moral and sustainable framework for human expansion into space. As the frequency and reliability of private human spaceflight activities advances, spaceflight is likely to take on the legal and ethical vestiges of common carriers, with distinct passenger rights and higher standards of care attributed to the launch operator as a common carrier. This chapter raises some of the complex issues and challenges that face the private spaceflight industry and that merit collaborative discussion across disciplines and the global space transportation community going forward.

Keywords: ethics, bioethics, space medicine, space law, spaceflight

### 1. Introduction

Commercial human spaceflight presents a novel area for diverse human activity, whether conducted for exploration, entertainment, transportation or extraterrestrial resource acquisition. The inherent dangers and lack of scientific and medical certainty involved raise interrelated questions concerning ethics, bioethics and public policy, particularly in regard to

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and eproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

spaceflight participant (SFP) screening, selection and commercial human spaceflight activities and practices. Ethics is the study of how things should be. It is through moral reasoning that society discerns ideal human values and what constitutes right action for governments, communities and individuals [1]. Ethical discussions concerning novel industry activities are particularly relevant to commercial human spaceflight because in developing these new technologies and spheres of human activity, existing social moral values are evaluated, developed and enacted with far reaching implications and consequences.

The expansion of commercial space capabilities and actors, in particular, require a meaningful understanding of the values and implications of these activities to society in order to adopt appropriate standards and guidelines. This chapter raises primary ethical issues in commercial human spaceflight along with relevant law and policy concerns. Identifiable categories of

Reimagining Icarus: Ethics, Law and Policy Considerations for Commercial Human Spaceflight

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.74716

3

Space medicine and ethics questions have existed since human spaceflight programs began. The distinguishing factor with commercial spaceflight lies in the accountability and regulatory oversight that exists for government space programs and civil space agencies unlike private space research and human spaceflight enterprises. NewSpace entities and related industries bear the burden of establishing practical ethical policies, procedures and professional codes of conduct for private individuals. Apart from the professional responsibility of participating disciplinary experts (doctors, lawyers, scientists and engineers etc.), ethics-based principles and procedures are not currently identified in the commercial human spaceflight regulatory

While a notable distinction may be drawn between law and ethics the two disciplines often work hand in hand. To be clear, law is focused on external acts and consequences rather than the internal moral intentions of a person [3]. After all a divergent intention alone does not constitute an unlawful act, although intention alone can form the basis for a moral framework. In law, the action or practical steps taken in furtherance of the intention form the basis for a judicial determination of lawful/unlawful activity. In the absence of a regulatory regime governing the human aspects of commercial spaceflight activities—particularly where questions of risk, uncertainty and persons are concerned—it becomes even more crucial to establish a practical ethical framework for operation as spaceflight activities fundamentally invoke a

Medical forum shopping is a foreseeable ethical and legal concern where regulatory standardization is lacking or is inconsistent between jurisdictions. No regulatory requirements currently exist for SFP medical screening and health selection criteria. The current regulatory perspective is that individuals have the right to participate in novel spaceflight activities at their own risk. As a

ethics and spheres of practice in this regard include:

• Medical ethics

• Astronaut ethics

• Technology and ethics • Environment and ethics

• Scientific research and ethics

• Ethical decision-making frameworks

2. Medical ethical implications

or industry decision-making frameworks.

myriad of moral issues in human interrelationships.

2.1. Medical forum shopping

Ethical values were in fact acknowledged in discussions at the beginning of the Space Age, even serving a role in political agendas, and incorporated into the international legal framework. The United Nations' 1963 Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, along with the subsequent space treaties, are principle-based instruments and emerged out of the geopolitical climate of the Cold War (from 1950s–1970s). The utopian principles espoused by the international community at this time, most importantly: that outer space is to be used for peaceful purposes only and for the benefit and in the interest of all countries, were codified in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which remains the foundational treaty pertaining to space activities today [2]. Overall, the legal principles espoused in these international instruments can also be seen to apply traditional ethical principles of beneficence (duty to do good) and non-maleficence (duty to do no harm) in the space environment, on celestial bodies, and to other actors in space, while establishing a practical moral framework for action.

Contemporary social values on human spaceflight and exploration also impact the developing customs and social norms on new commercial practices, actual uses of space and its resources, and public human spaceflight development. Here, a practical ethics approach is useful in applying ideals or ethical principles to practical engagement in life through codes of conduct and protocols, usually specific to context, discipline and industry. Doctors, lawyers, and engineers are among the professional disciplines that have long established codes of conduct. Policy and law, on the other hand, generally apply normative ethics, establishing moral frameworks through applicable rules, theories, principles and guidelines. Bioethics specifically relates to practical ethics and issues arising in medicine and biology. Bioethical issues include healthcare, patient rights, individual rights over one's own body, medical malpractice, and the use of human subjects in studies and scientific experimentation. NASA, for instance, frequently confronts bioethical concerns in its human spaceflight program, which requires evaluating and balancing the actual and prospective risk of harm to astronauts with the prospective benefits and mission objectives.

In practice, ethics, policy and law, are not always distinguishable disciplines. Law and ethics are particularly intertwined in biomedicine. The public healthcare system and medical sector moreover are governed by a combination of laws and policies on a range of procedural and substantive bioethical issues [3]. New technologies and surgical options (e.g. telemedicine) and progressively increasing human activity in extreme environments that test the limits of human endurance (e.g. space), are pushing back the boundaries of established professional, legal and community values on acceptable risk and scientific uncertainty. As a result, the new commercial space transportation industry (NewSpace) requires new informed legal and ethical approaches to human spaceflight and emerging aerospace activities.

The expansion of commercial space capabilities and actors, in particular, require a meaningful understanding of the values and implications of these activities to society in order to adopt appropriate standards and guidelines. This chapter raises primary ethical issues in commercial human spaceflight along with relevant law and policy concerns. Identifiable categories of ethics and spheres of practice in this regard include:

• Medical ethics

spaceflight participant (SFP) screening, selection and commercial human spaceflight activities and practices. Ethics is the study of how things should be. It is through moral reasoning that society discerns ideal human values and what constitutes right action for governments, communities and individuals [1]. Ethical discussions concerning novel industry activities are particularly relevant to commercial human spaceflight because in developing these new technologies and spheres of human activity, existing social moral values are evaluated, developed

Ethical values were in fact acknowledged in discussions at the beginning of the Space Age, even serving a role in political agendas, and incorporated into the international legal framework. The United Nations' 1963 Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, along with the subsequent space treaties, are principle-based instruments and emerged out of the geopolitical climate of the Cold War (from 1950s–1970s). The utopian principles espoused by the international community at this time, most importantly: that outer space is to be used for peaceful purposes only and for the benefit and in the interest of all countries, were codified in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which remains the foundational treaty pertaining to space activities today [2]. Overall, the legal principles espoused in these international instruments can also be seen to apply traditional ethical principles of beneficence (duty to do good) and non-maleficence (duty to do no harm) in the space environment, on celestial bodies, and to other actors in space, while establishing a

Contemporary social values on human spaceflight and exploration also impact the developing customs and social norms on new commercial practices, actual uses of space and its resources, and public human spaceflight development. Here, a practical ethics approach is useful in applying ideals or ethical principles to practical engagement in life through codes of conduct and protocols, usually specific to context, discipline and industry. Doctors, lawyers, and engineers are among the professional disciplines that have long established codes of conduct. Policy and law, on the other hand, generally apply normative ethics, establishing moral frameworks through applicable rules, theories, principles and guidelines. Bioethics specifically relates to practical ethics and issues arising in medicine and biology. Bioethical issues include healthcare, patient rights, individual rights over one's own body, medical malpractice, and the use of human subjects in studies and scientific experimentation. NASA, for instance, frequently confronts bioethical concerns in its human spaceflight program, which requires evaluating and balancing the actual and prospective risk of harm to astronauts with the prospective benefits and mission

In practice, ethics, policy and law, are not always distinguishable disciplines. Law and ethics are particularly intertwined in biomedicine. The public healthcare system and medical sector moreover are governed by a combination of laws and policies on a range of procedural and substantive bioethical issues [3]. New technologies and surgical options (e.g. telemedicine) and progressively increasing human activity in extreme environments that test the limits of human endurance (e.g. space), are pushing back the boundaries of established professional, legal and community values on acceptable risk and scientific uncertainty. As a result, the new commercial space transportation industry (NewSpace) requires new informed legal and ethical approaches

and enacted with far reaching implications and consequences.

2 Into Space - A Journey of How Humans Adapt and Live in Microgravity

practical moral framework for action.

to human spaceflight and emerging aerospace activities.

objectives.

