Stephen Hawking Says Humanity Can Escape Annihilation By Launching Space Colonies

Via stgist.com by Carlo Diokno

Stephen Hawking says humanity is at risk from many dangers, but he claims the only way to save our species is by leaving Earth.

We’re not there yet, but one day in the distant future, civilization could destroy itself, and famed Theoretical Physicist Stephen Hawking has shared some of the scenarios that he believes could trigger humanity’s demise.

BBC is reporting that Professor Stephen Hawking has mentioned some of the scenarios that could roil the human civilization, from development of artificial intelligence, nuclear warfare, to genetically engineering viruses that could easily spread across the world and kill us all.


The 74-year-old Cambridge professor answered a question during the pre-BBC Reith Lectures event where he will share insights about black hole research.

“Although the chance of a disaster to planet Earth in a given year may be quite low, it adds up over time, and becomes a near certainty in the next thousand or ten thousand years,” he said.

But there’s a glimmer of hope, and for Professor Hawking, the best way to escape the world’s demise is by venturing into space. In other words, he wants humans to move forward and become species of many worlds.

“By that time (meaning the future) we should have spread out into space, and to other stars, so a disaster on Earth would not mean the end of the human race,” he explained.

So when are we going to move from Earth to other worlds in the Solar System? According to Prof. Hawking, we won’t establish “self-sustaining” colonies in space for at least the next hundred years. He also warned the scientific community to be “very careful” in this period.
 
Moving To Space. NASA and ESA’s Plans

If we’re going to ask some NASA scientists, humanity’s next destination is probably the Red Planet.

Mars.

NASA is already operating on Mars with its rovers and orbiters — and the United States space agency is planning to put American boots on the Martian soil by the year 2030. Although it’s not binding, NASA shared its Mars 2030 plan last year, and it’s divided into three parts.

The first part, which is where they are now, is focused on research and development, from understanding how humanity can establish a safe base on Mars to making the best suit that can protect astronauts while on Mars. The second part is about testing technology on the moon’s backyard (from its ground to orbit), and this part includes the much publicized Asteroid Redirect Mission.

And for the third part or the final act before the grand launch, NASA says it will first launch a manned mission to Mars, and this spacecraft would orbit Mars and possibly landing on one of its moons.

Okay, that’s NASA’s non-binding plan, and how about ESA (The European Space Agency)?

Well, for ESA, it’s more important to establish a colony on the moon first before launching a space mission with colonies to the Red Planet.

We already reported ESA’s plan to return to the Moon, and its target region that would accommodate its permanent colony.

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