Why We Need To Colonize Space

What do you think about the future? Do we have a dull, depressing, and dangerous future? Why should we keep trying if we can be happy now and die tomorrow? There is nothing to live for if our world is doomed.

On the contrary: I disagree. I believe in an exciting future where we are not confined to our earthly sphere. As our population grows, we naturally need more resources, energy, and space. I believe that we must move out into space to secure our future. We need to colonize and explore our solar system, build infrastructure, and explore beyond our current understanding.

A drive to explore has been an integral part of being a person. The great benefit of exploration was finding a new place that offers a chance to change, innovate, and improve how we live. In the age of exploration, the explorers from Europe discovered the Americas. They offered large amounts of land and resources. They also found that they were not empty, but possessed by nonunified and technologically young people. Looking back, we find that the real blessing we have received is the Great Experiment that resulted in the United States of America. As we have explored our Earth, these opportunities have ceased to exist. The final frontier starts with our Solar System.

Scientists theorize that sixty-six million years ago an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs and most of life on earth. Every few million years, a similarly sized asteroid hits Earth, causing damage on a global scale, filling the atmosphere with dust and smoke, and killing huge amounts of plants and animals. This can even go as far as triggering mass extinction and would wreck human culture. The Earth is unprepared to counteract an asteroid. We can track and detect them, but there is little we can do. Even a mass evacuation is a poor option, because there would be nowhere we are ready to go. Becoming a multi-planetary civilization would increase our options and help us to survive and thrive despite the dangers in our Solar System.

Many have said that we don't have the technology to accomplish this feat. To the contrary, science editor and futurist Issac Arthur has detailed how we can produce larger structures in space than exist on Earth, create self-sufficient space settlements, habitats that can house millions of times our current population, and more all with modern technology. For example, we can create gravity inside a cylindrical habitat simply by spinning it at the right speed. Centrifugal force can maintain an equal acceleration to how we feel gravity on Earth. Living in orbit of Earth isn’t only possible, but is comfortable for more options than we have on Earth.

The growth of the human population is a magnificent thing. As the only intelligent life on Earth, we are meant to grow and expand. Our purpose as stewards of the natural world is to maintain existing order and organize chaos. As Entrepreneur and SpaceX founder Elon Musk put it, “You want to wake up in the morning and think the future is going to be great - and that’s what being a spacefaring civilization is all about. It’s about believing in the future and thinking that the future will be better than the past. And I can’t think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars” (Musk 1). If we want a future, expanding beyond this planet is not only important but critical. The future of humanity lies in space.