Why moral bioenhancement in future space missions may not be a good idea: The perspective of feminist bioethics of space exploration

Abstract

Moral bioenhancement for future space missions, like radical forms of biomedical human enhancements in general, seems at first glance a reasonable idea. This is due to the harsh conditions of the space environment, as well as the high cost and difficulty of implementing long-term and long-distance space missions. However, it turns out that this most controversial type of human enhancement, which is biomodification of morality, can also bring many risks for such a demanding environment as that of future long-distance space missions. The object of this paper is to polemicize the philosophy of moral bioenhancement proposed by Henri Huttunen and Oskari Sivula and to supplement their point of view with important but missing contexts.