Statement
At every major stage, rerun launch, wait, habitat, probe, and do-not-go alternatives; treat pause or abandonment as valid outcomes.
Evidence dimensions
- Basis
- normative
- Readiness
- operational
- Confidence
- supported
Assessment rationale
This is a GShips decision rule intended to preserve reversibility and protect future people. It is compatible with lifecycle decision analysis but requires independent ethical and governance review.
Citations and locators
- NASA Systems Engineering Handbook (opens external site in a new tab)
Decision analysis, lifecycle review, stakeholder expectations, risk, verification, and validation. · direct method - Universal Declaration of Human Rights (opens external site in a new tab)
Dignity, equality, liberty, family, participation, and remedy as foundational rights context. · context only - Moon to Mars Architecture Definition Documents (opens external site in a new tab)
Objectives-first architecture and iterative revision process. · context only
Assumptions and limits
The assessment applies to this bounded statement and the cited source scopes. A source can support one relationship without validating a generation ship, and an editorial grade does not substitute for independent review or representative demonstration.
What would change this conclusion?
A legitimate independently reviewed framework that better protects affected and future people while keeping pause and refusal real could replace this decision rule.
Editorial record
- Prepared by: GShips Project
- Last reviewed: 2026-07-25
- Review status: substantive editorial review
- Reviewer: GShips Project editorial synthesis
- Independent review: pending two person required
- Conflicts: Publisher intends to explore a commercial venture based on some GShips work.
- High-consequence domains: governance, intergenerational-rights