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Moral Maze

Artemis 2 and the ethics of human space flight

Moral Maze

BBC

Society & Culture, Religion & Spirituality

4.5609 Ratings

🗓️ 2 April 2026

⏱️ 58 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today, humanity reaches towards the Moon once more. The first crewed lunar mission in more than 50 years.

But as NASA’s Artemis 2 lifts off, some troubling moral questions follow in its wake.

Are the billions of pounds being spent a visionary investment in our future, or a luxury we can't afford while poverty, disease, and a climate crisis demand urgent action here on Earth?

Who benefits from space exploration? The wealthy nations that lead it or all of humanity?

Is there really a moral imperative to explore the possibility of how to live on other planets?

And ... as we venture outwards, do we risk repeating the mistakes of colonial expansion?

That's our Moral Maze tonight ... the ethics of human space flight

WITNESSES: Dr Simeon Barber, Lunar Scientist at Open University; Dr Stuart Parkinson, Executive Director of Scientists for Global Responsibility; Dr Tony Milligan, Philosopher in Space Ethics; Mary-Jane Rubenstein, Professor of Religion and Science in Society at Wesleyan University PANELLISTS: Carmody Grey, Anne McElvoy, James Orr and Sonia Sodha PRESENTER: William Crawley

Transcript

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0:00.0

BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.

0:07.3

Their company's success helped build a nation.

0:10.9

The company is such a big part of Korea's economy.

0:13.5

But who are the family behind one of the world's tech giants?

0:17.2

They often say, look, we built the nation.

0:19.2

And without us, South Korea as it exists today,

0:22.6

would simply not be here. Inheritance, Samsung explores the real-life dramas of the Lee family

0:28.3

and their company. They are the equivalent of royalty. Listen first on BBC Sounds.

0:34.4

Thank you very much. Good evening. As you've just been hearing in less than four hours

0:38.2

time, if all goes well, NASA's Artemis II will send four astronauts on a 10-day journey around

0:44.6

the moon. It's the first crude lunar mission in more than 50 years and future missions

0:49.2

aim to return humans to the moon and establish an enduring presence there with Mars as the ultimate goal.

0:56.3

But as Artemis II lifts off tonight, troubling moral questions may follow in its wake.

1:01.8

First, there's the cost.

1:03.3

Tonight's launch alone costs $2 billion.

1:06.1

The overall cost of the mission so far is more than $90 billion.

1:10.4

Some say that is a visionary investment in humanity's future.

1:15.3

Others say it's a luxury we simply cannot afford,

1:18.7

while poverty, disease and a climate crisis demand urgent action here on Earth.

1:24.5

Then there's the morality of the current space race itself and whether we're in

1:29.3

danger of repeating the ruinous mistakes of our colonial past, a concern scarcely assuaged

1:35.8

by Donald Trump's pledge to pursue America's manifest destiny into the stars. But perhaps this is

...

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