>>136394531. It's not wise to have all your eggs in one basket. Earth could be hit by an asteroid, a gamma ray burst, or a myriad of other disasters and it would be the end of Humanity if we are not spread out among the stars. Despite what shitty misanthropes say, Humanity is special and worth enduring. We are (one of the, if not the only) ways the universe has of understanding itself.
2. Earth's resources are going to run out eventually. Not just fossil fuels, but also rare earth materials, stuff that we can find in space in virtually limitless amounts. We should figure out asteroid mining before said resources run out to avoid bottlenecks and other economic problems.
3. Space exploration advances science in many ways which end up benefitting Humans back on Earth. A society that doesn't invest in science and spends it all on gibs is a stagnant society just waiting for its final death and collapse. Technological improvements, on the other hand, expand the frontier of production and economic output.
4. Earth is overpopulated as fuck. Environmental crisis looms on the horizon. Species are going extinct every year. We are a fucking plague on this planet breeding out of control. The solution proposed so far by the elites is population control and lowering our living standards to eat ze bugs and live in pods.
I don't want to eat ze bugs. I like eating meat. The real alternative is to start colonizing space, to free up more land here and eventually allow Mommy Earth to heal. Eventually we will be able to figure out all the ins-and-outs so that we can have cattle ranches on Mars and live like kings here, there or anywhere.
>b-b-but early life on Mars would be harshYou underestimate Humanity. I would kill to be given the opportunity to be a Mars colonist. I know I will probably die young and go mad from the lack of space and harsh life but the idea of being among the first to found a new society and make history is extremely attractive.
