Famous astrophysicist and professor at Cambridge University Stephen Hawking is urging mankind to colonize Mars and the moon. He believes that the only way for humans to survive extinction is to live outside the planet.
Professor Hawking is a forerunner of searching for potentially habitable planets. According to him, the only hope for human beings against extinction cannot be found on Earth. Last year, he launched a mission called "Breakthrough Starshot" to send a "nano craft" to Alpha Centauri where a potentially habitable planet, Proxima Centauri B, was discovered.
Stephen Hawking wants mankind to colonize Mars and the moon
In his recent talk, Professor Hawking urged mankind to hasten efforts to build colonies outside Earth. He particularly thinks that living on Mars and the moon are the most viable options if men wanted to live for one million years more. NASA is currently planning on sending humans to Mars by 2030, but the professor said it should be done as early as 2025.
Not only will these space exploration projects become mankind's escape from the planet, it will also forge new partnerships among nations and will give humanity a collective goal.
"I hope it would unite competitive nations in a single goal, to face the common challenge for us all," astrophysicist Stephen Hawking said during a conference at the Starmus Festival.
However, space explorations require a lot of funding. Some say it would be better to spend money to solve problems here on Earth like climate change. Hawking was quick to dispel the haters by saying that he is not denying the importance of climate change, unlike the president. He says the problem with global warming made leaving Earth more important.
This is because climate change puts the planet in constant threat due to dying natural resources.
Since the Earth is running out of resources, it is best to develop other worlds for mankind to continue live and propagate. Aside from that, he pushes for deeper space explorations, which means searching for potentially habitable planets beyond our own Solar System.
It is vital for mankind to spread its territory even in places where no manmade spacecraft has gone before.
ESA, SpaceX, and China planning to reach the moon and Mars
Today, the European Space Agency (ESA), SpaceX, and even China are all planning to build a colony on Mars and the moon. The moon, being the nearest object to Earth is considered a "pit stop" and a "gateway" to outer space.
With their individual and collective efforts to colonize the moon and other planets, the idea of building a city on Mars or the moon is no longer fiction but might actually happen. Professor Hawking is banking on these projects because their success is the redemption of human beings.
"I hope for the best. I have to. We have no other option", Hawking added during the conference.
