The ethical thing to do!

I was a part of the Space Humanities department at the Space Studies Program 2019 and I had the opportunity to interact with Dr. William Kramer and Dr. Kathryn Denning. Our talks usually revolved around ideas of bioethics and anthropology. I found these conversations new and intriguing as I wasn't aware of all these considerations we would need to think about when we talk about ethics.

Around 1637, Rene Descartes the one who stated, "I think, therefore I am" was an advocate of sapience (the ability to reason). His perspective was that the living organisms that cannot reason can be tortured and experimented on. This is extremely disturbing as most animals and pets don't have the ability to reason, but that does not validate any harmful actions against them.

In 1789, Jeremy Bentham advocated Sentience (the ability to feel). This logic is a bit more settling as it states ethics would be to not harm any living being that can feel or sense pain. To evolve to this ethical stature, it took humankind more than a hundred years.

Bioethics have definitely shifted in theories due to a number of different reasons like cultures, personal histories, folklore, size, aesthetics and abilities over the years. Deciding what is the "right" thing to do is often a challenge.

For example, we have imagined plants not to be deserving of ethical consideration throughout history. Recently, it has been scientifically proven that plants can communicate with one another through signals that pass through their roots.

Knowing about the numerous sacrifices made for science and research often leads me to believe that ethics is something we haven't given much thought to. In terms of Space exploration, we all know the world famous dog Laika who was the first animal to orbit the earth in the Soviet spacecraft. When I first came to know about it, all I thought was, "OMG, this is so cool!." It's only recently did I come to know the importance of ethical research and exploration.

Little was known about the impact of spaceflight on living creatures at the time of Laika's mission, and the technology to de-orbit had not yet been developed, so Laika's survival was never expected. Laika died within hours from overheating, possibly caused by a failure of the center R-7 sustainer to separate from the payload. The true cause and time of her death were not made public until 2002; instead, it was widely reported that she died when her oxygen ran out on day six or, as the Soviet government initially claimed, she was euthanized prior to oxygen depletion.

Many dogs were trained prior to Laika's launch. To adapt the dogs to the confines of the tiny cabin of Sputnik 2, they were kept in progressively smaller cages for periods of up to 20 days. The extensive close confinement caused them to stop urinating or defecating, made them restless, and caused their general condition to deteriorate. Laxatives did not improve their condition, and the researchers found that only long periods of training proved effective. The dogs were placed in centrifuges that simulated the acceleration of a rocket launch and were placed in machines that simulated the noises of the spacecraft. This caused their pulses to double and their blood pressure to increase by 30–65 torr. The dogs were trained to eat a special high-nutrition gel that would be their food in space. Laika had to undergo a surgery to connect all the necessary medical systems to her that would monitor her body.

In 1998, after the collapse of the Soviet regime, Oleg Gazenko, one of the scientists responsible for sending Laika into space, expressed regret for allowing her to die:

Work with animals is a source of suffering to all of us. We treat them like babies who cannot speak. The more time passes, the more I'm sorry about it. We shouldn't have done it ... We did not learn enough from this mission to justify the death of the dog.

Ham, the chimpanzee (Astrochimp) is extremely famous for being the first hominid launched into space. During his pre-flight training, Ham was taught to push a lever within five seconds of seeing a flashing blue light; failure to do so resulted in an application of a mild electric shock to the soles of his feet, while a correct response earned him a banana pellet.

Dr. Kramer is one of the people who have met and interacted with Ham several times while he worked in the zoo where Ham was kept later. During the flight, the capsule suffered a partial loss of pressure, which made the application of the mild electric shock be a result of both a correct and wrong response. He was basically electrocuted in the remainder of his 16 minute long flight. Though a national hero, Ham became depressed and secluded after his return as he was the only chimpanzee in the National zoo in Washington D.C. It was during this time, William used to meet Ham. On one such occasion, Ham bit William. Though William jokes about how an astronaut once bit him, I think the psychological effect Ham experienced during the training, the flight and the after flight led him to the act. Though it is not as brutal with the training and monitoring, human space exploration definitely takes a toll on the human body. Significant adverse effects of long-term weightlessness include muscle atrophy and deterioration of the skeleton (spaceflight osteopenia). Other significant effects include a slowing of cardiovascular system functions, decreased production of red blood cells, balance disorders, eyesight disorders and changes in the immune system. Additional symptoms include fluid redistribution (causing the "moon-face" appearance typical in pictures of astronauts experiencing weightlessness), loss of body mass, nasal congestion, sleep disturbance, and excess flatulence.

Luckily, we have the aid of technology and exercise regimes that have reduced the harmful effects for humans. Of course, it's more ethical for humans as every astronaut we have is a volunteer and most of their dreams are about going to space. Needless to say, they are all heroes! Through ISU, I have had the amazing opportunity of meeting astronauts, many who have flown numerous times to space. I truly admire them and their bravery.

I am now more aware of bioethics and the implications of anthropology. I hope you are too!

To know more about Dr. William Kramer and his work, please visit,

https://outerspaceconsulting.com/

#SSP19 #ISU #bioethics #ethicalthing #anthropology