If people were stranded on an island with very limited resources, struggling for survival, would we chastise them if any were to turn to cannibalism just to survive? What if they were settlers who have been tasked to build a new colony and found themselves in the above scenario? That's something that Kelly and Zach Weinsersmith discussed in their book about the different aspects of building settlements and a city on Mars.
Of course, the ethical decision would be to exhaust all other options that don't sacrifice human life, at least from a humane standpoint. However, the question is whether one is willing to risk letting the whole crew die and failing the mission or sacrificing one's life for the sake of the mission and their fellow astronauts' lives.
So far, not much has been published on this subject, but the Weinsersmiths did find a book written by Dr. Erik Seedhouse titled Survival and Sacrifice in Mars Exploration, which not only discussed the topic of astronaut cannibalism but also stated in detail how exactly to go about it.
Still, if we were to go by legal precedent, there was one case of four seafarers whose ship capsized, and after being stranded for more than a week on a dinghy without any sign of rescue, decided to kill the youngest and weakest member of their crew, in order to survive. They were found guilty of murder and sentenced to death.
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