ToMars

EXCERPT FROM THE MARTIAN (2016) FILM SCREENPLAY BY DREW GODDARD

mark addresses camera.

He looks a little less-terrible than he did before. mark our surface mission here was supposed to take thirty-one days. for redundancy, they sent enough food to last for sixtyeight days. for six people. so for just me, it’ll last threehundred days. and i figure i can stretch that to four hundred if i ration. so... i’ve still gotta figure out how to grow three years worth of food. here. on a planet where nothing grows. luckily, i’m the botanist. mark holds up one of his mission briefs. Points to the word “botanist” under “watney.” looks at us like, impressed? mark (cont’d) mars will come to fear my botany powers.

ETHICS & SUSTAINABILITY

Paula Calleja Cardiel - 33428544

TOMARS Early this December I finally watched The Martian.

Botanist and astronaut Mark Watney finds himself ‘stranded’ on Mars with only 300 days worth of food. He needs to survive at least 500 days. He applies his botanical skills and manages to grow potatoes on Mars.

I felt an itch.

Martian potatoes.

A week later I found National Geographic’s November issue. The magazine’s title went as follows:

MARS Race to the Red Planet National Geographic was launching a new TV series on Martian colonisation and its possible commercial exploitation.

I felt another itch.

Martian colonisation.

I did not know what to think nor feel about it.

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To grow food on Mars a form of space appropriation has to take place and such use of space, in this case, land of a celestial body, falls within a legal framework.

Laws and policies inherently posses a series of values which in turn belong to an economic system, a political agenda and a discourse, and the conjunction of those represents a people. Furthermore, growing food has biological implications on the cultivated land, thus making bio and land ethics pertinent when considering the possibility of Martian crops.

Design intervention A 2014 study in the journal PLOS ONE showed that tomatoes, wheat, cress and mustard leaves grow particularly well, and even flowered and produced seeds, in simulated Martian soil for 50 days without fertilisers (Ghose, 2015). In the EU tomatoes, carrots and onions were the most important vegetables in 2015 (Eurostat, 2016) and tomatoes were the 4th most consumed vegetable in the U.S. (Produce for Better Health Foundation, 2015) that same year.

TOMARS is simply a food labelling. A tiny tomato sticker.

Organically harvested Martian tomatoes, with an exciting shade of red.

Nutritious vegetables necessary for your five-a-day.

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STANDPOINT It is wrong to commercially exploit outer space and its celestial bodies, and therefore, Mars.

SCENARIO Buying Martian-grown imported tomatoes at Tesco.

CONTEXT Though the PESTLE analysis format has been followed generally, the focus is primarily on current and future legislation, both national and international.

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original photograph by merrin macleod (2010)

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tomars tomato sticker

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tomars tomato tray sticker

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original photograph by robert judge (2008)

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from Chief Steathl’s letter to President Franklin Pierce of the United States - 1855

There is a persistent narrative in western culture, preserved in modern scientific discourse, which portrays outer space both as pristine and a source of wisdom; it is a valued place, rather than a valueless space (Galliott, 2015). Outer space is valued scientifically and economically. It is part of human nature to want that which we deem valuable and, since we live in society, it becomes necessary to legitimise our claim.

do we own space?

“How can you buy or sell the sky - the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. Yet we do not own the freshness of the air or the sparkle of the water.

How can you buy them from us?”

The common heritage of humankind The Outer Space Treaty (OST), approved by the United Nations in 1967, establishes the exploration and use of outer space as the ‘province of all mankind’ (United Nations General Assembly, 1966). The Moon and other celestial bodies shall not become property of any State, organisation or natural person; being space law’s primary goal the use of outer space for the benefit of all humankind (United Nations Office of

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Outer Space Affairs, 2016). From an anthropocentric view, it is an egalitarian and inclusive concept, though from a universal, extra-human perspective, unilateral and given humanity’s brief existence, presumptuous. The essence of the common heritage of mankind is rooted mainly in basic Judeo-Christian and Islamic values; the biblical call for dominion or stewardship theory which establishes the superiority of mankind in God’s Creation (Beslar, 1998).

The transformation of the idea of ‘the common heritage of mankind’ from utopia to reality depends on consent and auto-limitation on the part of nation-states to suspend or waive from their rights and claims to territorial jurisdiction without any reciprocity to materialise the common interests of mankind (Beslar, 1998). And, despite having provided an effective scheme for countries over the past decades, the OST is ambiguous on how this principles should be applied in peaceful Mars colonisation and exploitation (Bruhns & Haqq-Misra, 2016).

The Outer Space Treaty might suggest a common property approach that establishes a positive community of ownership, that is, we each own an equal share of space and its contents (Lin, 2006). However, this equitable sharing principle is specially rejected by the countries that have invested more money into space exploration (Bruhns & Haqq-Misra, 2016), which seems to favour a negative community ownership, where no one has a prima facie1 claim to the property (Lin, 2006). When put into practice, this would lead to a chaotic land-grab based on the OST’s free-for-all basis (Lin, 2006) with all the resulting political consequences at an international scale. On the other hand, from a Lockean position, demonstrating the ability to improve and labour the land would be a way to legitimise appropriation (Lin, 2006), which excludes countries with lower economic power but might ensure efficiency and productiveness.

Cultivating Martian land to grow tomatoes would be a Lockean example of legitimisation. But what is so special about those actions that an object then becomes ours?

At first sight. Definition from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press

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(Lin, 2006). Do we still have the right to exploit Mars?

If the Big Bang Theory is taken into account, everything in the universe has the same origin, and it is even estimated that, due to Mars debris fallen into Earth million of years ago, our composition could be 0.0000000000000001% Martian (Vsauce, 2016). The Earth does not exist in isolation, it is actually in outer space, surrounded by it, part of it; so in that sense the boundary between Earth and the ‘outer space’ beyond its atmosphere disappears (Galliott, 2015). If we consider correct our appropriation and harvest of land on Earth, by that extension, it is rightfully so in Mars. However, from a Stoic perspective, there is nothing but nature and all parts of nature are potentially equally valuable, hence there is no excuse for the devaluing of the Earth through commercial exploitation, and neither is there any excuse for exploitation of other planets (Galliott, 2015).

Even when proposing the moral imperative of the species’ survival, Mars is not our heirloom; changing our consumption habits might be just as effective (Slobodian, 2015). There is no rational justification, independent from the human imperative2 , which can support a claim, theoretical or not, over a planet or any land for that matter.

The human nature to expand, explore and posses. From http://spacefutureforum. weebly.com/yes-now.html (16th of December 2016) 2

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original photograph by vladimir morozo (2008)

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space law

Law is the product of man living in a society and acting in and re-acting upon a certain known environment in certain given circumstances (Wassenbergh, 1991). Space demands a somewhat different [ethical] philosophy, based on detailed knowledge of the space environment, and must progress from the philosophical and academic towards the design of an ethical code or policy to be of any practical use (Galliott, 2015). The notion of ‘common heritage’ puts at odds different stakeholders, the key task of a space-ethics policy thus being to reconcile the competition between capitalist, commercial and industrial interests on one hand, and scientists on the other (Galliott, 2015).

In Mars’ commercial exploitation scenario an ideal Martian law would serve the common interests of Earth States and private enterprise to ensure the peaceful development of outer space society (Wassenbergh, 1991). Nonetheless, it must be warily acknowledged the fact that the spatial environment possesses a natural tendency to create conditions for tyrannical institutions and people (Cockell, 2009). The very act of being alive in outer space implies explicit consent to the governing private enterprise and/or Earth State (Cockell, 2009). Considering the unavoidable legal limitations Mars entails, ensuring human liberty and rights would be an extremely intricate endeavour.

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The envoys of mankind The exploration and colonisation of outer space is widely seen as humanity’s unifying project. States shall regard astronauts as envoys of mankind (United Nations General Assembly, 1963) and space law call for international cooperation (United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs, 2016). So what will be the values we uphold as an interplanetary species?

In 2005, then NASA Administrator and Bush appointee Michael Griffin commented that “when human civilisation is at a point when more humans are living off the Earth than on it we want their culture to be Western (Billings, 2006). For a nation-state, to take the lead in space exploration means to secure a higher ground in the defence of its agenda. The Code of Laws of the United States’ Title 51 states that “human and robotic exploration of the solar system will be a significant long-term undertaking of humanity in the 21st century and beyond, and it is in the national interest that the United States should assume a leadership role in a cooperative international exploration initiative” (Office of the Law Revision Counsel, 2010). In practice, space values are fundamentally Western, as it is the U.S.’ interest that they remain so, consequently wrongly excluding other equally respectable, human value systems.

The rhetoric of space policy is keenly based on ideals of materialism and utilitarianism, relying on the notion that space’s resources will solve Earth’s shortages (Billings, 2006). Mars colonisation advocates argue that it will bring social cohesion and economic growth on Earth, while inadvertently extending U.S. free enterprise, resource exploitation, property claims and commercial development (Slobodian, 2015). In Peter Diamandis’, founder of Planetary Resources, words: “historically, the driver for opening frontiers has always been the search for resources” (Folger, 2013). Science and curiosity are weak drivers compared to wealth generation (Folger, 2013).

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Mars brings back the old, utopian ‘myth of the frontier’ that shaped colonial America: unlimited resources, expansion, access, free market economics and individual and personal property rights (Billings, 2006). However, the ‘space frontier’ thus far does not represent all humanity, only a very small demographic of limited genders and races (Slobodian, 2015). Besides, a certain kind of personality is needed for Mars, someone who is mentally resilient, highly educated and has excellent social skills (Achenbach, 2016) and not everyone fits the profile.

Rationales advanced for space settlement are historical, culturally bound, and selectively anecdotal: that we need to pioneer what we are, that new colonies are a means of renewing civilisation (Billings, 2006). Without a rambunctious imperialism nor an eager Enlightenment the case for space colonisation is not compelling (Billings, 2006). On another note though, a utopia is not just a place but a method, inspiring people to work for a better world (Galliott, 2015) and if a new age of space exploration is our opportunity to ‘start over’, we should scrutinise all economic models (Lin, 2006).

In this sense, an ethical approach to space becomes an ideal to be striven for rather than an answer to be filled in (Galliott, 2015).

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is there life on mars?

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Agriculture uses up 38% of ice-free land (Foley, 2014) and in order to meet the Earth’s predicted needs from now to 2050 a 56% increase in cultivated land is necessary (Jost & Cox, 2000).

Africa, one of the few regions that still have millions of acres of fallow land and plentiful water, is emerging as a laboratory for testing new approaches to boosting food production (Bourne Jr, 2014). Huge land deals, like ProSavana worth 35 million acres - between the governments of Brazil, Japan and Mozambique (Bourne Jr, 2014), might become a form of agricultural neo-colonialism. Mars’ soil has all the necessary plant nutrients (Jordan, 2015) and its commercial colonisation could prevent further annihilation of vast natural reserves by acting as an agricultural and demographic release valve (Lin, 2006).

Nonetheless, we should evaluate the logistic, economic and social implications of importing Martian tomatoes to Earth. Feed and food should be safe and wholesome (European Parliament, Council of the European Union, 2004) and in order to ensure a more efficient organisation and facilitate commercial flows, it may be necessary to designate specific points of entry for feed and food from third countries [Mars] (European Parliament, Council of the European Union, 2004) and verify compliance with the applicable feed and food

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photograph courtesy from nasa johnson space center - gary jordan (2015)

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legislation (European Parliament, Council of the European Union, 2004). Tomato global production reached 130 million tons the first half of 2016, the top five producers being China, the European Union, India, the United States and Turkey (Eurofresh Distribution, 2016). Mexico is the world’s largest tomato exporter and Spain is the largest European tomato producer for the fresh market (Eurofresh Distribution, 2016). If, despite all odds, Martian farms were successful what would that mean to current producing countries employment-wise? And what would be the cost of those imported goods and their transport?

Bioethical implications An habitable environment must have liquid water, a source of energy and the fundamental chemical ‘building blocks’ of life - Carbon - (Grotzinger, 2013). It is a fact that Mars was once habitable (Grotzinger, 2013) and it is plausible that remnants of that life could still endure underground, where liquid water may linger (Lemonick, 2014). And even if no life as we understand it on Earth is found, Mars could still have potential for it; as life emerges inevitably whenever necessary conditions concur (Makukov & Shcherbak, 2014). One of the problems is that all focus on biosignatures and extremophile beings assumes that life on other worlds, like life on Earth, will be built from complex molecules that incorporate carbon as an essential part of their structures and use water as solvent (Lemonick, 2014).

The introduction of terrestrial life forms could lead to an ecological holocaust (York, 2005). However, the policies for treating extraterrestrial life depend on both the accepted ethical system and whether the life in question is microbial, sentient and/or intelligent (Makukov & Shcherbak, 2014). An ethic may be regarded as a mode of guidance for meeting ecological situations so new or intricate, or involving such deferred reactions, that the path of social expediency is not discernible to the

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average individual (Leopold, 1968). In agricultural ethics social responsibility goes hand in hand with scientific responsibility (Jost & Cox, 2000) while environmentalism, for its utilitarian approach; when applied to space, aims to minimise the harm from industrial exploitation to further human activities (Galliott, 2015).

Settling on Mars represents an extension of our terrestrial behaviour, not a departure from it (Slobodian, 2015) and based on our history on Earth it would be wise to consider the ethical obligations we have to other worlds (York, 2005). A probable answer could be a land ethic which changes the role of man from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it; ensuring values of love, care and understanding (Leopold, 1968). A lifeless world possesses its own intrinsic worth so as to be spared from our exploitative interference even if it is not a home to any recognisable life (York, 2005).

Per contra, applying a land ethic to seemingly lifeless Mars, unrelated to Earth’s notion of natural world and living creatures, can potentially diminish its moral force and public appeal (York, 2005).

Yet, creating low-impact, commercial habitation hubs and keeping areas on Mars intact, as natural parks, misses the larger question of whether it is ethically responsible to interfere with other planets at all, particularly if they [could] contain life (York, 2005).

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mark addresses camera.

He looks a little less-terrible than he did before. mark our surface mission here was supposed to take thirty-one days. for redundancy, they sent enough food to last for sixtyeight days. for six people. so for just me, it’ll last threehundred days. and i figure i can stretch that to four hundred if i ration. so... i’ve still gotta figure out how to grow three years worth of food. here. on a planet where nothing grows. luckily, i’m the botanist. mark holds up one of his mission briefs. Points to the word “botanist” under “watney.” looks at us like, impressed? mark (cont’d) mars will come to fear my botany powers.

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