There are multitude reasons that life on Earth should never have existed, strong evidence that we are living on a fragile planet. This book talks about that and about the importance of new frontiers and powerful, positive images of the future; and, finally, the critical need to develop exo-terra sustainable cultures.
I, also want to respond to an obvious objection to what I'm about to propose. I am well aware that there are many times more stars in the Universe than there are grains of sand on all the beaches and in all the deserts of planet Earth. Because of this it seems obvious that intelligent life with the capability of creating advanced technology must exist elsewhere in the Milky Way Galaxy and quite possibly flourish throughout the Universe of billions and billions of galaxies.
However, the many coincidences that had to come together to make life possible on Earth may happen only once in trillions of opportunities. In other words, the chance of this happening twice is infinitely less than the chance that a single person will win a 750-million-dollar grand prize lottery; it can happen, but the inevitability is beyond astronomical.
The odds suggest that there is a possibility that we are truly alone in our galaxy and possibly the Universe; that the abundance of life on our planet may be the singular success of nature. This could be the only time intelligent life capable of imagining, creating, and building technologies that would enable flight beyond the pull of gravity, the exploration of a Solar System, a galaxy, and possibly the Universe itself, has ever existed.
We may well be the only species called to populate a multitude of the Earth-like worlds circling other suns. That's what this book is about, the beginning, the critical importance of our venturing beyond Earth.
As you will see, we truly live on a fragile planet, one that has caused the extinction of over 99 percent of all species that ever existed. Our life on this planet has been for only a moment of planetary time. The question isn't, "Will there be an extinction-level event (ELE) that will wipe out humankind?" No, the question is, "When will there be the ELE that will wipe out humanity?"
We don't know the answer to that question. It could be tomorrow or it may not happen for thousands of years. But, happen it will and our only hope of survival is to become a spacefaring species.
