Life beyond Earth is superfluous because all of this still affects life on Earth.
Edit: Also I think its irresponsible to see “lifeless” spaces as places that we have a freedom from responsibility to. Space and the beyond is part of us, still connected to us. It is colonial sensibilities that push static and sanitized ideas of place. This is why the questions of life beyond Earth, questions of space exploration, cannot just be asked in the context of STEM, which oftentimes reproduces colonial sensibilities by default because it separates itself from humanities and social sciences.
Life beyond Earth is superfluous because all of this still affects life on Earth.
Edit: Also I think its irresponsible to see “lifeless” spaces as places that we have a freedom from responsibility to. Space and the beyond is part of us, still connected to us. It is colonial sensibilities that push static and sanitized ideas of place. This is why the questions of life beyond Earth, questions of space exploration, cannot just be asked in the context of STEM, which oftentimes reproduces colonial sensibilities by default because it separates itself from humanities and social sciences.