It is interesting that in western society (and perhaps society in general, I don't claim to know) cannibalism is considered one of the most horrifying things you can do... except in cases where it is necessary to stay alive. Pretty much nobody faults people for resorting to cannibalism when the choice is cannibalism or death. We might dance around it and avoid talking about it, but we are pretty understanding when it comes to a life and death situation.
We see examples of this when people are stuck in the Andes or on a life raft in the middle of the ocean.
In situations where negligence of the cannibals is seen to have contributed to the circumstances that lead to the necessity of cannibalism, we are a bit less forgiving. For example the Donner Party.
> "in the highly probable event that the brave souls aboard Apollo 11 became stranded on the moon"
Highly probable? Is this backed up by something? I've read some on Apollo 11, but never came across the idea that the astronauts being stranded was considered a likely event.
There were a number of scenarios where the mission might have failed. This was partly due to lack of information (can the lander actually remain vertical on lunar regolith where it is landing?) and partly due to weight contraints on the number of redundant systems.
For example the same cryopump that exploded on Apollo 13 could have had the same failure on the command module of Apollo 11 while the Armstrong and Aldrin were on the Moon.
Armstrong manually piloted the LEM due to a bug in the computer programming for the landing, and had to move laterally as the original landing site had too many boulders. He landed with less than 30 seconds of reserve propellent.
Errors in re-entry burns can lead to entering the atmosphere too quickly or too shallowly. Either are fatal.
There were many, many things that could have doomed the mission which supports the notion of 'highly probable'.
In general I agree with that, however there were many single points of failure in the Apollo program that resulted loss of crew and vehicle. In a conversational article such as this one I did not feel that the characterization was unwarranted. as I recall Michael Collins said as much in his book on the mission.
If I have gone to all the trouble of getting to Mars, don't you dare send my body back to Earth.
And with a whole planet filled with nothing, I think you can find room for a decent cemetery - so that in a thousand years someone can look down on my headstone and say "Here lies one of the first humans ever to set foot on Mars."
And if I don't quite make it there, just launch my body out towards somewhere like Kepler-186f, where in a million years some alien species might discover it and have proof that life does exist somewhere out there.
I go two ways on this. If I'm dead, whatever I am, I'm gone. My body isn't me. Do whatever you want with it. (For example, I carry a donor card.) Stuff it out the airlock. Leave it behind on another planet. Whatever. I won't care one way or the other.
On the other hand, as Frank Herbert said in Dune, the line between humans and animals (or maybe something more like civilization and savagery?) begins with how we treat the dead. It matters, not so much for the dead person, but for society as a whole.
So maybe the answer is something like this: Treat the dead bodies with as much dignity as circumstances permit. If circumstances don't permit any particular thing, don't worry about it.
17 comments
[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 44.5 ms ] threadWe see examples of this when people are stuck in the Andes or on a life raft in the middle of the ocean.
In situations where negligence of the cannibals is seen to have contributed to the circumstances that lead to the necessity of cannibalism, we are a bit less forgiving. For example the Donner Party.
Donner party included.
-- Chairman Sheng-ji Yang, "Ethics for Tomorrow"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soylent_Green
Highly probable? Is this backed up by something? I've read some on Apollo 11, but never came across the idea that the astronauts being stranded was considered a likely event.
For example the same cryopump that exploded on Apollo 13 could have had the same failure on the command module of Apollo 11 while the Armstrong and Aldrin were on the Moon.
Armstrong manually piloted the LEM due to a bug in the computer programming for the landing, and had to move laterally as the original landing site had too many boulders. He landed with less than 30 seconds of reserve propellent.
Errors in re-entry burns can lead to entering the atmosphere too quickly or too shallowly. Either are fatal.
There were many, many things that could have doomed the mission which supports the notion of 'highly probable'.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/Carrying-Fire-An-Astronauts-Journeys/d...
I've heard it described as the "greatest speech that was never given".
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Hamilton_(scientist)#...
And with a whole planet filled with nothing, I think you can find room for a decent cemetery - so that in a thousand years someone can look down on my headstone and say "Here lies one of the first humans ever to set foot on Mars."
And if I don't quite make it there, just launch my body out towards somewhere like Kepler-186f, where in a million years some alien species might discover it and have proof that life does exist somewhere out there.
Completely agreed.
> And if I don't quite make it there, just launch my body out towards somewhere like Kepler-186f (...)
So now instead of a bigger grave or tombstone, your family will have to pay for a bigger delta-v budget ;).
Were I to pass away during early colonization of Mars I do believe I'd enjoy being the guest and course of honor at a proper wake.
At least they'll be able to properly criticize my taste!
On the other hand, as Frank Herbert said in Dune, the line between humans and animals (or maybe something more like civilization and savagery?) begins with how we treat the dead. It matters, not so much for the dead person, but for society as a whole.
So maybe the answer is something like this: Treat the dead bodies with as much dignity as circumstances permit. If circumstances don't permit any particular thing, don't worry about it.