Interstellar Missions and Human Enhancement

Humanity’s first interstellar probes will be launched later this century. Perhaps near the end of the century we will have the ability to place a very small payload on the surface of a planet orbiting a nearby star. Although highly speculative, some experts today think this could enable us to “boot-up” earth life, or modify earth life in these distant environments. This possibility raises some interesting ethical and philosophical issues. If we can begin spreading our life across the galaxy—should we?