We have been stuck on Earth for thousands of years. It has been the only place we know has home. But while this planet is our entire world (literally), it is nothing but a very, very minuscule part of an entire plane of planets, stars, asteroids, black holes, and possibly entire civilizations of intelligent beings. Just outside of our atmosphere is limitless potential: additional resources to power our cars, cities, and countries, untouched, empty fields that can severe as the sites of new experiments, fueled by the new innovations enabled by space travel, and the expansion of human thought, as we realize how insignificant we actually are. Space is out there, and we must go out and take it.

We must grow to survive. Right now, humans are consuming vast amounts of resources, and that will only grow as millions of people in developing countries join the middle-class and demand more luxuries. It is only a matter of time before our oil runs out, our fish supplies are depleted, and deforestation turns once fertile land into desert wastelands. Our rivers and lacks, many of which are polluted, will soon be pushed to their limits as hundreds of millions of people want more and more of it. In order to avoid massive famines and overall decimation of humanity, we must both conserve our resources and look to the stars, where we can send colonists to mine, farm, and gather new resources from abundant sources and send them back to Earth and help humanity avoid plagues and families and wars over resources.

To push beyond the limits that have constrained humanity in the technological and research fields, we must go beyond the limits of this planet. Venturing far above the atmosphere or onto unexplored planets gives us the potential to experiment with bacteria too dangerous to be experimented on on Earth. It allows for the testing and development of new, encouraged by both the creating the means to go beyond our planet as well as operating in unearth like circumstances.

If we really want to expand as a species, us humans must venture beyond our comfort zone and into outer space. We must push for continued investment and research, whether it be by the governments of the US or China or by private corporations such Space X. Space holds the key to advancement and prosperity. Space is the future.