This week we dive into the troublesome, urgent, and underdiscussed issue of space ethics with planetary scientist and artist Divya M. Persaud. Can we transcend the traumatic conflict and exploitation that characterize human history, come together in compassionate mutual understanding and respectful discourse, and leave our children with better and more interesting problems? Or are we doomed to transmit the legacy of violence we inherited into fractured futures even more disparate, tragic, and unequal than our own time? A deep dive into the real stakes of space, and a preliminary exposition of the ethical discussions we will need to get there…Divya’s Website:https://divyampersaud.wordpress.com/about/Selected Writings:https://phdvolcanology.wordpress.com/2018/10/08/space-and-time-for-diversity/https://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2018/02/talking-about-tesla-by-emily-lakdawalla.htmlhttps://twitter.com/Divya_M_P/status/1080310839465467909Intro Music: Evan “Skytree” Snyder feat. Michael Garfield, “God Detector”https://skytree.bandcamp.com/track/god-detector-ft-michael-garfieldOutro Music: Divya M. Persaud, “Orogenesis” for Voice, Violin, Saxophone, and Pianohttps://soundcloud.com/divyamp/orogenesis-for-voice-violin-saxophone-and-piano`Additional reading on the ethics of space exploration:https://www.bmsis.org/the-ethics-of-space-exploration/https://theconversation.com/eight-ethical-questions-about-exploring-outer-space-that-need-answers-98878https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/bioethics/resources/articles/articles-on-the-ethics-of-space-exploration/https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/conferences/2017-business-and-economics-of-space/Documents/John%20Rummel.pdfSupport Future Fossils on Patreon to get access to our science fiction book club calls, secret episodes, and more:https://patreon.com/michaelgarfieldJoin the daily conversation in the Future Fossils facebook group:https://facebook.com/groups/futurefossils  Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/futurefossils. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Get full access to Future Fossils with Michael Garfield at michaelgarfield.substack.com/subscribe