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Comment by lmarinho | Hacker News Reader

I wonder, if Mars was an hospitable place, full of easy resources, would we have colonized it already? To motivate a long term effort on starship building maybe we should concentrate our efforts in finding a destiny that is enticing enough for it to go. Like the Moon was back in the days.

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Being the only species in the universe to be able to survive an extinction level event is a pretty impressive goal.

Even if we couldn't communicate at all, it would be mind-blowing to know that we have spread our species to other solar systems.

True immortality for the human race. That's an enticing destiny.

Considering there are at least 125 billion galaxies in the observable universe (each with between about 10 million and 100 trillion stars each), it might be a stretch to assume we would be the only species in the universe to achieve this :) That being said, it would be pretty cool.

Surely those goals are worthy, and they resonate with me, you, and most people here. Sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case for a lot o people out there.

That's why I think a concrete target (planet X has cool stuff, let's go see it), with potential for immediate benefits, would greatly increase the support for such an endeavor over the long term.

Surely those goals are worthy, and they resonate with me, you, and most people here. Sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case for a lot o people out there.

I agree with this assessment, but have trouble coming to terms with it and the popularity of religions that offer an afterlife.

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