"The Earth is the cradle of Mankind, but one does not live in the cradle forever." -- Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, 1895.

We came from the stars, our lives are supported by a nearby star, and Mankind must go to the stars, if it is to survive.

We live in the Space Age. Man has explored Space for about half a century. However, the implications of the new knowledge and technology have hardly been acknowledge by the vast majority. This is true even though we daily utilize space satellites for communication, weather prediction, and so on, and many of the products we use daily, such as the teflon frying pans, are a direct result of Space program research. It has been about a century since Konstantin Tsiolkovsky proved man could leave Earth with an appropriately constucted rocket.

The knowledge thus far accumulated allows us to state with great certainty where Mankind originated. The iron in our bodies was formed over five billion years ago in the centers of massive stars. Life developed on the Earth as soon as it was cool enough, about four billion years ago. Some argue that life on Earth was a result of a "seeding" process, which resulted from molecules raining down upon the Earth from Space. Others believe that tiny carbon particles from Space were the first "homes" colonized by life on Earth. We know the planet is bombarded daily by rocks ejected from the surface of other planets by meteor impacts. One of these, from Mars, arguably shows evidence of microscopic life. It is now assumed that life arises in any environment that can support it.

We know that the Earth will only be habitable for about a half a billion years, because of the increasing radiation from the Sun. A failure to establish human habitation elsewhere would mean the eventual end to Mankind. There is also the possibility that technologically advanced aliens will arrive on our planet in the near future, potentially destabilizing our societies. The risk of a war or of an environmental disaster making the Earth uninhabitable is another argument for the exploration of Space. Space exploration also offers the possibility of wealth beyond anything yet experienced by Mankind, because of the ease of mining near Earth-passing objects. Alternatively, one of these object could impact the Earth causing massive destruction or even the end of our species, as was the case with the dinosaurs. Mankind's survival depends upon the industrialization of Space. This is the unavoidable and ultimate mission of our time.