Guardians of the Galaxy: Preserving Space for Future Generations

The rapid proliferation of space activities has turned the cosmos from an untouched environment into an ever more crowded arena facing sustainability issues like those on Earth. In this chapter, we cover the importance of space stewardship as a way to protect the cosmic environment for future generations. It addresses four important challenges in this regard: The growing problem of orbital debris that threatens active spacecraft, the ethical dilemmas of the exploitation of extraterrestrial resources, the risks of biological contamination by planetary exploration, and the interference from satellite mega-constellations on astronomical observations. To help in this context, the chapter introduces a theoretical bottom up support approach by using environmental ethics, adaptive governance, and systems resilience to develop a breeding ground to solve these issues together and by doing it, to highlight that environmental ethics has a role to play in all these aspects. It advocates the concept of “cosmic stewardship,” suggesting a balance between human utilization and ecological preservation. These conversations highlight the need for agreements to update existing international treaties, innovate new technology for clearing debris, create protected cosmic parks, and adopt tighter planetary protection protocols. A paradigm shift in the way humanity views and conducts its space activities is essential to ensure sustainability, and that requires unprecedented cooperation at a global scale, ethical considerations towards the use of space resources, and a strong emphasis on the long-term environmental impact of both space exploration and commercialization activities.