Should people make an effort to live in outerspace?

Answer 1

Scientists predict the Earth will be completely uninhabitable by within a billion years or so. As the Sun ages, it is heating up, and a billion years from now the surface of the Earth will have an average temperature above the boiling point of water. So in the long term, getting off the Earth is pretty critical for the ultimate survival of our descendants.

In the "short" term ... 65 million years ago there was something called the K-T Event, which killed off about 70% of the species alive at the time (it's thought that this was due to the impact of a large meteorite). The fossil records shows evidence of several such past "extinction events", happening on average every hundred million years or so. That means that we have maybe 35 million years to go (short compared to a billion) ... if the time between the K-T Event and the next one is "average"; it could be much nearer than that. Humans might not be completely killed off by a giant asteroid impact, but it would certainly have a devastating effect on civilization, another reason for looking at space colonization as important for the survival of the species.

Answer 2

Living in outer space is a complex and challenging endeavor, and currently, it is only feasible for a select few astronauts. While the idea of space colonization is intriguing, it is important to prioritize addressing pressing issues on Earth, such as climate change or poverty, before considering widespread human habitation in space. Furthermore, the resources and technology required for sustained life in space are still limited.