It has often been said that “life imitates art.” That is no less true in science fiction than it is in any other form of art. Developments in science are often spurred by the creative mind of a Leonardo da Vinci, Jules Verne or Isaac Asimov.
Star Trek introduced the concept of the “prime directive,” the rule that space-faring species were not allowed to interfere with the development of life on the planets they discovered. How close are we to encountering that reality? Closer than you might think.
On May 10, a group of NASA scientists announced in The Astrophysical Journal that they have confirmed the existence of 2,325 planets beyond our solar system. Of those, 550 are earth-sized planets, and nine of those orbit their suns in the “habitable zone,” the distance that makes it plausible for them to contain liquid water, considered the most important element in the generation of life. And that’s just life as we know it (from earthsky.com, May 12, 2016). All of those were discovered by the Kepler telescope in one tiny area of the Milky Way.
“I think we’re going to have strong indications of life beyond Earth within a decade, and I think we’re going to have definitive evidence within 20 to 30 years.” (NASA chief scientist Ellen Stofan, and quoted by Mike Wall, Senior Writer, Space.com.)
We may not have to go beyond our own solar system. Mars has topographical features that hint that it had liquid water at some time in the past, or may have occasional flows from melting ice even now. Could there be surviving subterranean microbial life? At least two of the largest moons of Jupiter also have signs of water, and scientist are exploring the possibility that they might have liquid oceans below their icy surfaces.
Scientists are beginning to debate the necessity for a “prime directive.” How should alien planets and alien life be treated? Do we have the right to terraform a habitable planet or moon, possibly destroying indigenous microbes? What if those microbes are the forerunners of sentient life? Given the deplorable job we’ve done of protecting and nurturing the wealth of resources on our own planet, do we have the right to muck up some other planet’s future?
One of the aspects of science fiction I like best is it’s ability to force us to face moral issues that society would prefer to ignore. Star Trek challenged racial discrimination in several episodes. Now science fiction is forcing us to face the moral issue of how we should treat alien life, even microbial life. Time to implement the “prime directive” before it is too late.
