[vtange]

No, I just find it interesting how we only care about places we would inhabit. The parent comment suggested that asteroids are OK for unrestricted mining since it's, well, not a place people could inhabit and develop feelings for, like Earth or Mars.

[lazaroclapp]

It also has to do a bit with whether or not other lifeforms inhabit the place. Mars is unlikely to have any life on it, and certainly no pluricellular life without some extensive terraforming. If we ever get to that point, the discussion over preservation of a biosphere we ourselves created is certainly going to be a bit different in its implications...