(I'm not here to start up a heated or judgmental comment thread here, because I do think conversations like these about ethics are illuminating, and that the in

(I'm not here to start up a heated or judgmental comment thread here, because I do think conversations like these about ethics are illuminating, and that the interplay between general principles and an intuitive sense of justice is hard, and that I do want to genuinely engage in good faith with you...) I hope, as a species, that we do become a spacefaring, exploring civilization – so that these mice will not have been euthanized in vain. It would be tragic if these mice died, for example, so that space can be militarized. My feelings tell me that so much relies on what this knowledge ends up being used for – which is intimately linked with what we end up doing with the fantastically expensive investment that is spaceflight.