---
title: "Astrobiologist: Elon Musk’s Starship Is a “Moral Catastrophe”"
description: "SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's plans to colonize Mars are more of a \"moral catastrophe\" than a noble aspiration, says astrobiologist Samantha Rolfe."
date: "2019-10-03"
modified: "2019-10-11"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/astrobiologist-elon-musk-starship-moral-catastrophe"
categories:
  - "Elon Musk"
  - "Future Society"
  - "Space"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "Starship"
  - "The Industrialists"
tags:
  - "elon musk"
  - "mars"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "the digest"
---

# Astrobiologist: Elon Musk’s Starship Is a “Moral Catastrophe”

![Astrobiologist Samantha Rolfe says that Elon Musk's plans to colonize Mars are more of a "moral catastrophe" than a noble aspiration.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/astrobiologist-elon-musk-starship-moral-catastrophe.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: SpaceX\</em\>*

## Wash Your Hands

As SpaceX and its enigmatic CEO Elon Musk work tirelessly to reach and [eventually settle](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/thousands-years-colonize-mars>) on Mars, they may inadvertently destroy any extraterrestrial life that already exists on the Red Planet.

At the very least, without a proper planetary protection policy, future scientists would never be able to tell which microbial life forms actually came from Mars and [which were carried there](<https://futurism.com/spacex-starship-mars-landing-site>) by grubby humans.

That's according to [a new essay in *The Conversation*](<https://theconversation.com/elon-musks-starship-may-be-more-moral-catastrophe-than-bold-step-in-space-exploration-124450>) by University of Hertfordshire astrobiologist Samantha Rolfe — who, provocatively, called Starship a "moral catastrophe."

## Planetary Protection

Rolfe points to contradictions in Musk's view of astrobiology — that bringing humanity to Mars wouldn't damage any hypothetical organisms that live there because they're probably hiding beneath the surface, but also that humans may need to live underground to [avoid harsh cosmic radiation](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/radiation-exposure-mars>).

"Regardless of the thrill and feelings of hope this kind of adventure brings, just because we can do something, doesn’t mean we necessarily should, now or in the future," Rolfe wrote.

## Think Ahead

All in all, Rolfe argues that things would probably get messy pretty quickly if protective guidelines aren't put in place before people reach Mars.

"Can we be confident that, while pushing the boundaries of human exploration in such a short time frame, corners won’t be cut or standards won’t be allowed to slip?" she wrote in the essay.

**READ MORE:** [Elon Musk’s Starship may be more moral catastrophe than bold step in space exploration](<https://theconversation.com/elon-musks-starship-may-be-more-moral-catastrophe-than-bold-step-in-space-exploration-124450>) \[*The Conversation*\]

**More on SpaceX:** *[SpaceX Working With NASA to Find Mars Landing Sites for Starship](<https://futurism.com/spacex-starship-mars-landing-site>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)