Are We Looking for the Next Big Mac?

I was going through some earlier stories in the The Planetary Report, the journal of the Planetary Society, and came across a speech from Dr. Hawking after he received the Cosmos Award for Outstanding Public Presentation to Science on February 27, 2010.  It brought up a number of good points that are worth reflecting on.  In addition to linking Columbus' expedition to today's Big Mac (not the most convincing argument he made here), he noted the need for a long-term strategy for spreading into space:

This would mean hundreds, or even thousands, of years.  We could have a base on the Moon within 30 years, reach Mars in 50 years, and explore the moons of the outer planets in 200 years.  By "reach," I mean with manned, or should I say "personed," spaceflight.  We have already driven rovers on Mars, and we have landed a probe on Titan, a moon of Saturn, but if one is considering the future of the human race, we have to go there ourselves.

Such plans make sense, but we also live in a world where we laugh at 5-year plans (remember, they are a Communist tool), and approve NASA's budget annually, which is subject to the whim of legislators who need to be re-elected every 2 years rather than every 100 years.  So the vision thing may be a bit of a problem going forward for the United States.  It actually is better suited to the Chinese, who are still pretty happy with long-term planning.  That said, I would not want to bet against our private sector if we give them a good reason to get out there in space, such as profits.  And pride has worked in the past.  Would the United State's have put a man on the Moon if the Russians were not prodding us along?  Most probably not.

Dr. Hawking's also makes it clear that it is self-interest, such as rekindling American science, that should propel us outwards:

As new interest in space would also increase the public standing of science generally.  The low esteem in which science and scientists are held is having serious consequences.  We live in a society that is increasingly governed by science and technology, yet fewer and fewer young people want to go into science.  A new and ambitious space program would excite the young and stimulate them to go into a wide range of sciences, not just astrophysics and space science.  A high proportion of today's scientists say their interest in science was sparked by watching the Moon landings.

Dr. Hawking's also warns us to be careful, since not everything out there may be safe for human contact:

...an independent occurrence of life would be extremely unlikely to be DNA-based.  So watch out if you meet an alien.  You could be infected with a disease against which you have no resistance.

Dr. Hawking's gives us plenty to think about. I recommend you listen to his compete remarks.