Re: starship-design: What is safest?

[Zenon Kulpa <zkulpa@zmit1.ippt.gov.pl>]

> From: TLG.van.der.Linden@tip.nl (Timothy van der Linden)
> 
> >> Euthanasia is ending your life prematurely when all that is left is an
> >> unworthy way of living (ie. with pain, or without a mind).
> >> Going on a one-way mission means that you likely have to die 
> >> (or even want to die) before your life becomes unworthy of living.
> >
> >I rather see that differently, but it would be too much off topic
> >to discuss it here, I am afraid. Only two remarks:
> >
> >- I am not against suicide as such (i.e., I can be against it
> >  as a way of solving the problem [or from, say, religious reasons], 
> >  but I grant the right of a person to choose such a solution), 
> >  but I am against suicide assisted by others, for whatever reasons.
> 
> While a one-way mission is not pure suicide, the World does assist the crew
> to go on a mission that may cause them to die prematurely.
> 
In a two-way mission the crew may also die prematurely,
which does not make a two-way mission "not pure suicide".
In this respect, I see no difference between one-way 
and two-way missions.


> >- If going on a one-way mission assumes "wanting to die",
> >  thet it is a suicide mission, not a one-way mission.
> >  Did the settlers of other continets went there because 
> >  they wanted to die?
> 
> I wonder if settlers can be compared with explorers.
> Settlers likely expect to die of old age with their family (offspring) to
> take care of them the few last years.
> Depending on the ability to repair the ship, the crew may die due to
> equipment failure. And while the first of the crew will die while others 
> are around to take care of them, the last members alive may hope to just 
> not wake up the next morning.
> 
Yes, I agree that there are differences.
As any analogy, this one is also not perfect.
I wanted only to point out that the lack of possibility
(or desire) to return back home from a mission
does not nessarily mean that one must "want to die"
in order to go for such a mission.

-- Zenon