Astronomers have warned against colonial practices in the space industry

The past decade has seen a rapid expansion of the commercial space industry. Many space industry leaders, such as Mars Society President Robert Zubrin, argue that although European-style colonialism may have had unsavory consequences on Earth, it is the only way to proceed in outer space. If the space industry blasts, mines and – following a suggestion from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk – nukes planetary bodies, scientists could lose access to this knowledge. If colonialism on Earth culminated in these two wars, the nations that signed the Outer Space Treaty were effectively saying, “Let’s not battle each other for territory and resources again. Preventing colonialism in outer space doesn’t require the space industry to agree on these metaphysical questions.