National Collegiate Honors Council


Date of this Version


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UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity:


Copyright @ by the author.


Space: the final frontier. Humanity has long held a fond appreciation for this vast unknown, and it has been featured in both art and academia since the dawn of time. Scientific knowledge of both the Earth and the solar system have greatly advanced in the last seventy years since humanity launched its first object, a German V-2 rocket, into the atmosphere. This obsessive curiosity did not cease with the Lunar Landing, but instead increased ten-fold with dreams of extraterrestrial life and extraterrestrial living. As the day humans will set foot on Mars steadily approaches, humankind faces a daunting dilemma: how can life be sustained outside of Earth’s orbit? While important, this question is not the focus of this paper. Arguably more important are discussions on how colonization can be achieved ethically. Although there are many opinions on this subject, the ultimate need for survival of the human race paired with preserving the abundance of celestial objects and the progression of scientific knowledge unveil that a compromise between conservation and preservation ethics is the best framework for ensuring humanity’s survival while preserving galactic integrity.