Records of the Staircase Program Ethics Review Hearing published; full transcript of questions and answers made available

The Council today published the full records and transcript of questions and answers for the 2nd hearing (special session on the ethics review of the Staircase Program). The public may consult these under the Document Centre — Hearing Records section (document number PDC/HEAR/02).

This hearing focused on the ethics review of the payload scheme for the Staircase Program. The Staircase Program intends to send a radiation sail detector, accelerated by a nuclear bomb array, towards the Trisolaran Fleet. Due to strict limitations on payload mass imposed by propulsion capabilities, scientific assessment determined that the detector can only carry human brain tissue obtained through a voluntary donation procedure.

The main conclusions of the hearing have been incorporated into the record of the 2nd meeting:

• The acquisition of payloads must strictly follow a voluntary, informed, and uncompensated donation procedure; no organization may participate for profit.
• The personal identity information of volunteers shall be kept permanently confidential, and the withdrawal of donation consent remains valid until the ignition of the detector.
• Subsequent handling measures in the event of the detector losing contact, among other scenarios, shall be continuously reviewed by the Ethics Special Group.

During the session, a Council member inquired, "Given such a small probability and such a long cycle, is this plan still worth continuing?" The PIA representative responded as follows:

"What we are sending out is not just a detector. As long as it is still flying, humanity is signaling to the stars four light-years away: we understand the darkness of the universe, yet we still choose to reach out."

The 13th meeting will conduct a mid-term assessment of the Staircase Program.