Ethics Involving The Deflection Of Asteroids

One of the blog-posts from last week focused on the general observation of why an asteroid defense system or anti-asteroid DS is necessary. As well, how it usually takes a longer duration for a mega-project like this to come to fruition (and then become functional with x probability attached to the rate of success).

Related to this topic, the thought that I’ve been thinking of today, is the actual steps that the solar system based lifeform are most likely to take. And again, this is contingent upon what kind of systems have been enabled for this very purpose.

I think the most likely methods of mitigating such a threat may come down to: * Deflection. Source - Asteroid impact avoidance page on Wikipedia * Destruction. We are conditioned to think this way, that we can blow up an asteroid into smithereens. But in it’s current form, I am not sure if this strategy is actually going to work. Source. If and that’s a big if, if this stratgy is somehow made to work. Even in such a situation, there are other variables involved. a) The overall level of technological sophistication that the human and machine civilization has achieved. Expanding the range of the overall scientific know-how, does (in theory) increase the probability of leveraging more mechanisms. However, the sobering reality is that an asteroid or asteroids can pop in from another part of the galaxy anytime. Like Oumuamua did. Note: Oumuamua was not on a collison course with earth. b) As I have shared in previous posts, if the defense systems have been provisioned in the first place c) When the threat is actually intercepted and how much lead time is to be had prior to the materilization of risk. * Controlled destruction and deflection (in bits and pieces). Same comment as above.

That being said, this is not a blog-post about the methods that are most likely going to be leveraged.

From an ethical perspective and what the blog-post is really about, the following two points (at the very least) would have to be thought through in advance.

• Secrecy and information in the hands of the few. Particularly with regards to this and other threats being characterized in such a way, so that very few people actually understand what the issue is in the first place. And the data related to such claims isn’t publicly accessible. The means and mechanisms via which such data was collected in the first place, is not something that can be replicated and verified by an independent third party. –> Such set of realities would then increase the probability that a despot or a fringe group would want to artificially inflate the threat rating a whole lot more vs what it actually is. And then use such a reality to hold onto power. This may also include the possibility of creating artificial threats. With the overall intention being, using fear that is manufactured as a weapon.
• In the realm of deflecting asteroids. The deflection of asteroids towards other/random direction(s) across the galaxy, is not something that should be undertaken. We do not know what kind of life exists across the milky way. Our best estimates could be way off. So we do not want our asteroid defense system or anti-asteroid DS to be an extinguisher of life somewhere else across the galaxy. However long it will take for the object to get there.

Off-topic: I came across the following blog-post, when I was doing some preliminary research. The math in this other blog-post is alien to me. But, it is something that I’d like to know and learn about.