Building Better (Space) Babies: Bioastronautics, Bioethics, and Off-World Ectogenesis

Abstract

One of the more plausible methods of establishing an off-world human society is to transport a small number of adults alongside a large supply of frozen embryos. This would minimize the costs of transportation and protect genomic diversity across future generations. However, there are various ethical issues with attempting off-world pregnancies, in terms of unknown risks to pregnant people and fetuses, and potential discrimination concerns if the adults selected for the mission are required to be willing and able to gestate this genetically diverse population of embryos. An alternative would be the development and use of artificial womb technology (ectogenesis) to perform this latter function. Benefits might include freeing all crewmembers to devote all their energies to establishing the off-world facility without pregnancy-related illness affecting health and productivity, and providing a safer environment for fetal development, for example, providing additional radiation shielding around the artificial wombs. This chapter will explore some of the ethical issues surrounding ectogenesis and its space applications.

Citation

Kendal, E. (2024), "Building Better (Space) Babies: Bioastronautics, Bioethics, and Off-World Ectogenesis", Stelios, S. and Theologou, K. (Ed.) The Ethics Gap in the Engineering of the Future, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 215-227. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83797-635-520241012