Specialists are claiming that when the Virgin Galactic mission brought Homo naledi and Australopithecus bones to space, they crossed a serious ethical breach.
Human Relative Remains Brought to Space in Virgin Galactic Flight
It is the first time for ancient human relative fossils to be transported to outer space's edge. The remains belonged to two relatives of humans, namely, the Homo naledi and Australopithecus sediba. They were carried to space through the Virgin Galactic flight last September 8.
The fossils departed from New Mexico's Spaceport America and were brought by billionaire Timothy Nash inside a tube with the shape of a cigar.
National Geographic Society explorer Lee Berger, who also serves as the director at University of Witwatersrand's Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, was the one who chose the fossils. Berger was also crucial to the species' discovery. A two-million-year-old fragment that Berger's son found in 2008 was included in the lineup. Aside from that, a H. naledi thumb bone was also chosen.
Berger explains that the fossils' journey to space shows the appreciation of humankind towards the contributions made by all humanity's ancestors and prehistoric relatives.
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Archaeologists, Astronomers, Anthropologists, Other Professionals Criticize Efforts
However, these endeavors have garnered criticisms of many. One reason behind this is that the prehistoric creatures would not have grasped the reason behind this space journey.
Alessia Veneziano, a biological anthropologist who also serves as the co-organizer of the AHEAD conference, which stands for Advances in Human Evolution, Adaptation, and Diversity, highlights four main concerns. There are, namely, ethical concerns regarding the respect for the remains, the lack of scientific basis for pushing through with the flight, Berger's distinct fossil access, and paleoanthropology practice misrepresentation.
The space journey of the remains have been widely criticized for not having a sufficient purpose, especially since a mission malfunction could have led to the valuable specimens' destruction.
Originally, the permit request of Berger, which gained approval from the SARA (South African Heritage Resources Agency), noted that the expedition's goal was to boost science and facilitate global recognition for human origin research across South Africa. The fossils have been identified to fall under the paleontological category, rather than human, for the permit's purpose.
Bioarchaeologist Sonia Zarkzewski from the University of Southampton explains being horrified that a permit was granted, adding that the example was used in her class to illustrate unethical approaches.
Art and archaeology professor Justin Walsh from Chapman University also expresses that the impact of spaceflight on heritage things has not been scientifically focused on before. He adds that space archaeologists, like him, could be interested in this, but he did not expect that an actual heritage item from Earth would be used for testing this.
Professor Walsh also shared the same sentiments as Zakrzewski regarding ethics. He stresses that the fossils should be respected as they are not simply scientific specimens but actual remains of human ancestors.
Aside from this, another major critique regarding the flight is the privilege and entitlement that was demonstrated through the flight. As most paleoanthropological specialists are unable to access the fossils and land that Berger could, the issue lies in how Berger has misrepresented researchers.
Professor Walsh explains that these endeavors are unusual for prehistoric fossils, adding that there was no sign that Berger was deeply interested in conducting scientific research and answering queries by carrying the fossils. He adds that he would have appreciated an open dialogue regarding the mission that covered comprehensive details regarding the flight, including benefits and risks.
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