This page contains resources that we’ve collected about different macroethical issues in aerospace engineering. Macroethics refers to the collective, social responsibility of the engineering profession and societal decisions about technology (Herkert, 2005).
Space settlement and resource utilization
- Issue brief written by students at CU Boulder (Spring 2021) and supported by the Engineering Excellence Fund.
- Hear Ye! Hear Ye! A Declaration of the Rights of the Moon by Kate Evans for Eos (July 20, 2021)
- Mars is a Hellhole by Shannon Stirone for The Atlantic (Feb 26, 2021)
- Mining the moon to help save life on Earth (op-ed) by Lewis Pinault for Space.com (May 10, 2022)
- The Settler Logics of (Outer) Space by Deondre Smiles for Society & Space (Oct 26, 2020)
The military-industrial complex
- Issue brief written by students at CU Boulder (Spring 2021) and supported by the Engineering Excellence Fund.
- Inside Lockheed Martin’s Sweeping Recruitment on College Campuses by Indigo Olivier for In These Times (Aug. 11, 2022)
- Historical context: President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s farewell address (Jan. 17, 1961)
- Current context: ‘Business is very good, unfortunately’: Arms fair spotlights bonanza year ahead for weapons companies by Natasha Turak for CNBC (Feb. 24, 2023)
- A perspective: Can the Military-Industrial Complex Be Tamed? by William J. Astore for Tom Dispatch (Jan. 31, 2023)
Space sustainability and orbital debris
- Issue brief written by students at CU Boulder (Spring 2021) and supported by the Engineering Excellence Fund.
Aerospace emissions and climate change
- Aviation’s best bet for cutting emissions is a new kind of fuel — but there’s nowhere near enough of it by Bianca Giacobone for Business Insider (Jan 27, 2023)
- Hungry Hungry Airlines by Dan Rutherford for the International Council on Clean Transportation (May 23, 2022)
- Flying shame: the scandalous rise of private jets by Emine Saner for The Guardian (Jan 26, 2023)
- Electric planes are coming: Short-hop regional flights could be running on batteries in a few years by U-M Aero. Prof. Gökçin Çınar for The Conversation (Sept. 19, 2022)
- The pollution caused by rocket launches by Mark Piesing for the BBC (July 15, 2022)
Nuclear technology in space
- Groups Protest Use of Plutonium on Galileo by William J. Broad for The New York Times (Oct. 10, 1989)
- NASA’s nuclear-fueled oddsmaking / Assurances can’t calm fears of a ‘Chernobyl in the sky’ by Keay Davidson for The San Francisco Chronicle (April 28, 2003)
- How a US government program advocated using nuclear explosions for construction, farming radioactive crops, and blasting holes in the moon by Marianne Guenot for Insider (Oct. 26, 2021)
- NASA and DARPA plan to test a nuclear-powered rocket that could take humans to Mars in record time by Marianne Guenot for Insider (Jan. 27, 2023)
- DARPA’s DRACO Program: The Future of Nuclear Propulsion in Space by Micah Hanks for The Intelligence Debrief (April 21, 2021)
- Nuclear Propulsion Could Help Get Humans to Mars Faster by NASA (Feb. 12, 2021)
- New Zealand MP says Rocket Lab launches could betray country’s anti-nuclear stance by Eva Corlett for The Guardian (Oct. 17, 2022)
Other effects of spaceflight on the environment
- Hydrazine (rocket fuel) contamination: SpaceX’s Crew Dragon fire sent hazardous chemical compounds into the environment by Jim Waymer for Florida Today (April 25, 2019)
- Construction of a launch site in Brazil: Hundreds of Black families in Brazil could be evicted to make way for space base expansion by Michael Fox for The World (February 16, 2021)
- Construction of a launch site in Brazil: A story of slavery — and space by Terrence McCoy & Heloísa Traiano for The Washington Post (March 26, 2021)
- Proposal of a launch site in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula: The plan to make Michigan the next space state by David Rompf for The Atlantic (April 24, 2022)
- Construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii: New front emerges in battle to build giant telescope in Hawaii by Daniel Clery for Science (Jan. 14, 2020)
If you’re interested in our survey about student perceptions of macroethics, you can find that here: Macroethics in Aerospace Survey – W22. Please do note that the survey was given in Qualtrics, not this paper form.