We are entering a new Space Age. However, this time, the race is being led by private companies like SpaceX. This, for many, seems like a positive attempt for humanity to reach for the stars, pioneering new research and entering into a new age of space exploration, but as we charge forward into this new era, there have to be considerations for the moral and ethical questions of working in space, similar to any working conditions on Earth.

In 1973, there was a mutiny on the Skylab, a mission run by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), during which three astronauts were tasked with a month of 16-hour workdays and minute by minute itineraries to complete their tasks. The astronauts arrived exhausted and quickly became overwhelmed by the work with no breaks. To further exacerbate the problem, one of the astronauts came down with a mild cold and the crew opted not to share it with NASA. It turned out that they were monitoring the conversations of the crewmates without their knowledge and they called in to berate them for withholding information. This was eventually resolved by the crewmates taking an unauthorized day of rest but the astronauts were prevented from ever returning to space after that mission. This incident quickly made the rounds on Earth as it was the first example of a space strike or mutiny.

Abuses of labor like this will only become more common as space travel becomes more accessible. In order to engage in safe space travel, astronauts must place their lives in the hands of the people on Earth. They rely on the knowledge that they are equipped properly and will be given the time to engage in enriching activities like maintaining their bodies for the increased gravity on Earth and maintaining sanity by socializing with crewmates.

Furthermore, in an environment as regulated as a space station, there is no privacy or even the illusion of it. This sacrifice is something countless astronauts have been willing to make with the protection of their governments that sponsored space travel. However, private companies are held to much less strict safety regulations towards their employees.

In the early days of air travel, there were countless tragedies as the industry moved to privatization. However, with the possibility of private long-term space missions seeming to be more likely each day, legislation has lagged in putting in protections for these astronauts. Few countries properly considered the implications of instituting labor laws in space. Space is considered international waters and where sailors have the option to get off at the next port, astronauts would not have this option as they are physically unable to leave the spaceship.

Without the power to bargain for better conditions, they are likely to be stuck at the mercy of corporations who may not have the best interests of their employees at heart. Take SpaceX, for example, a company that has already made headlines by sending an unsterilized car into space. This is against regulations at NASA because they don’t want to send bacteria out into foreign spaces where there could be the fragile beginnings of life.

Although this does not have immediate ramifications for human lives, it shows how corporations can be less concerned with ethical problems and are more likely to plunge forward recklessly. Elon Musk, the Chief Executive Officer of SpaceX, has shown his willingness to reach for resources at the expense of humans with his company’s push for lithium in countries such as Bolivia.

Privatization of space travel means relying on private business owners to make rational and ethical decisions. History has shown us that when new frontiers are explored, this trust will most likely result in tragedy before reform can happen. I suggest that we get ahead of these tragedies by establishing labor laws for space before we need them.

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