The Office Reset podcast #11: Working on Mars, part 2
In part 1 of this working on Mars series, we discussed sending humans to Mars and what life could be like for workers on the red planet. With Elon Musk planning to land humans on Mars by 2026 it was interesting to speculate how he might decide to govern it. Since the last episode, Jeff Bezoz has announced his intention to go to space (a petition has been signed by thousands telling him to stay there). Even Richard Branson after perhaps feeling left out has decided he will get there first by a whole 9 days.
But while these billionaires set their sights on space and actually get other humans to join them, a lot of work will need to be done to protect these workers in these hostile environments. In this episode, space lawyer Jonathan Lim and research director AJ Link give their thoughts about protecting human rights in space.
AJ Link on delivering justice for workers in space:
We don’t have a true way of knowing what the judicial recourse would be for someone that has a complaint in space. How does one get justice on Mars if there is no court? How long does the communication go back and forth between Mars and Earth before justice is delivered? I think these are all really important questions.
Jonathan Lim on the famous Skylab 4 strike in space:
I think the incident itself stands out as one of the first instances of labour and human rights issues demonstrated in outer space. You had astronauts that were overworked, exhausted and as a result following refusal for compromise from NASA and government officials they decided to cut off communication and stage what was essentially an act of collective protest.
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You can find more podcast episodes on Apple podcasts, Spotify, and other platforms. If you would like to facilitate a discussion or even send some feedback, you can email me at: theofficereset@gmail.com