Space is really spread out, and we will forever lack the means to get around it fast. Space also happens to be highly inhospitable to human life. For these reasons, I submit that no human will ever go farther than Mars.
Space is really spread out, and we will forever lack the means to get around it fast. Space also happens to be highly inhospitable to human life. For these reasons, I submit that no human will ever go farther than Mars.
Mining on earth is extremely destructive, but if human civilisation is to survive the coming challenges, it will still need a source of high value raw materials.
Getting them from the astroid belt and refining it in space all via robotic probes seems not so far fetched.
But once such an industry is established the economies of space travel change dramatically.
Sure, overall I agree with the article, but there will be most likely a few that will leverage the economies of scale mentioned above for some human exploration beyond the belt.
Because if you are at a certain age and healthy enough, you can plan a nice multi-year trip without “return ticket” pretty easily and neither low gravity or radiation are a serious issue either.