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Planetary engineering
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=== Ethical considerations === While successful terraforming would allow life to prosper on other planets, philosophers have debated whether this practice is morally sound. Certain ethics experts suggest that planets like Mars hold an intrinsic value independent of their utility to humanity and should therefore be free from human interference.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=The Ethics of Terraforming {{!}} Issue 38 |url=https://philosophynow.org/issues/38/The_Ethics_of_Terraforming |access-date=5 November 2021 |website=Philosophy Now |archive-date=5 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105014517/https://philosophynow.org/issues/38/The_Ethics_of_Terraforming |url-status=live }}</ref> Also, some argue that through the steps that are necessary to make Mars habitable - such as fusion reactors, space-based solar-powered lasers, or spreading a thin layer of soot on Mars' polar ice caps - would deteriorate the current aesthetic value that Mars possesses.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sparrow |first1=Robert |title=The Ethics of Terraforming |journal=Environmental Ethics |date=Fall 1999 |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=227β245 |doi= 10.1007/978-90-481-9920-4_124 |url=https://robsparrow.com/wp-content/uploads/The-ethics-of-terraforming.pdf |access-date=April 21, 2023}}</ref> This calls into question humanity's intrinsic ethical and moral values, as it raises the question of whether humanity is willing to eradicate the current ecosystem of another planet for their benefit.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sparrow |first1=Robert |title=The Ethics of Terraforming |journal=Environmental Ethics |date=Fall 1999 |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=227β245 |doi=10.1007/978-90-481-9920-4_124 |url=https://robsparrow.com/wp-content/uploads/The-ethics-of-terraforming.pdf |access-date=April 21, 2023}}</ref> Through this ethical framework, terraforming attempts on these planets could be seen to threaten their intrinsically valuable environments, rendering these efforts unethical.<ref name=":6" />
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