Overpopulation, climate changes, global pollution, potential clean water shortages and other worldwide concerns make us wonder if the Earth is suitable for human existence in the following centuries. It created rising attention to already proceeding space programs, taking on board the idea of the searches of new homeland.
First of all, we need to take into consideration that the wealthiest and the largest countries have already contributed a vast amount of resources to other planets’ explorations, as well as a significant number of private firms. Consequently, humanity has already accumulated a host of crucial information about the conditions, features and possibility of our survival on the closest ones. Currently, giant companies and designated government institutions are putting a crucial amount of effort into development of cheaper and more accessible space travel options, which will be affordable to most of us.
On the other side of the coin, is our planet. The financial, human and political resources used for a universe examination could have been employed for protection and recoverment of the Earth. What’s more, that horrific opportunity cost, involves other possible implementations, which could have increased social welfare all over the world. Personally, I consider the attempts of prevention of the planet’s further destruction and creation of programs securing potential recovery a way more important than populistic space gambling. In my opinion, we have to focus on what is happening on our planet rather than search for escape ways and potentially demolishing another planet in future.
Summarising, I research of other planets could become a solution in the long term prospective, but it has an extremely high risks, including dramatic opportunity cost for a global society.