Planetary parks- formulating a wilderness policy for planetary bodies

Charles S. Cockell*, Gerda Horneck

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Building on an earlier article, establishment of a planetary park system for other planetary bodies is further developed. Reasons are elaborated for such a system to protect representative regions of other planetary bodies. Although a parks system might seem supererogatory, and an over-reaction to the currently very limited environmental impact of robotic and human exploration and settlement activities, four arguments are provided that suggest that such a system does have a value, even in advance of robotic and human missions. Planetary parks incorporate concepts of planetary protection, but they extend the reasons for practical protection policies beyond the utilitarian protection of scientific resources emphasized by planetary protection, into other utilitarian and intrinsic value arguments. Planetary parks might still allow for the development of non-park areas by commercial enterprise. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)256-261
Number of pages6
JournalSpace policy
Volume22
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2006

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