Space Tourism: A Historical and Existential Perspective

Stephen Schweinsberg () and David Fennell
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Stephen Schweinsberg: UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia
David Fennell: Department of Geography & Tourism Studies, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: The growth of space tourism over recent decades has led to calls to formalise its ethical positioning and sustainability credentials in the eyes of society. With tourism ethics frameworks typically developing according to human-centred viewpoints, how might we develop ethical reference points for future space tourism when technological innovation progresses to the extent where we are exploring the unknown? To explore the unknown, we have conducted a colonial reflection on the behaviour and attitudes of Captain James Cook and the crew of HMS Endeavour when they visited Australia in 1770. From a methodological perspective, we have drawn on extracts from the voyage journals, examining the information that they provide through the lens of existentialism. Through this examination we explore some of the challenges that future space tourists might face being authentic to themselves when exploring the unknown. This includes the challenges in avoiding ‘bad faith’ in our dealings with other life-forms and the abdication of our own personal responsibility to act in a manner which is ethical.

Keywords: ethics; existentialism; space tourism; colonialism; Captain Cook (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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