intriguing talk

The lecture by Dr Kathryn Denning at the RASC Toronto Centre meeting tonight was very... thought provoking. While I had considered the issues of microbe disinfection when visiting other worlds, the possibility of contacting an alien (in the true sense of the word) life form, the vast distances we need to cross, our historical examples of "exploration," I had not thought deeply on other matters. Recently, I had even jokingly referred to Martian deeds. But the somber reality here is that it is very unclear what may happen now that commercial organisations are venturing into low Earth orbit and beyond. If we look at our trends, it won't be long (in the grand scheme of things) before Moon property is valued like cottage island real estate and there are damned advertisements everywhere... The entire Moon should be designated a preserve. Now.