This essay was originally posted on the National Space Society's blog site on August 11, 2009.
After Apollo, Can the dream of Solar System Settlement become reality?
The answer to that question is an unequivocal yes and the reasons have to do with economics, national prestige, national and environmental security concerns and the existential threats we face as a species.
Our species and our ancient forbearers were and remain innately a migratory species. The lure and call of distant lands and new horizons is an ancient passion. Modern science offers us tantalizing evidence of this wanderlust and has helped us weave a tale that is the stuff of legend. This migratory history is written in our genes and the fossil record. It is the story of how our species emerged out of Africa and spread out across the globe to become a planetary species.
