While the idea of moving from Earth and colonizing other planet’s in the solar system and even cosmos might sound as science fiction to many, the truth is that in the last couple of years, this  has been a highly debated subject and many experts agree that in order to survive, the human race must colonize other worlds in the cosmos.

In addition to statements from Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk, among others, a pentagon space expert say we need to colonize other planets in the near future.

Speaking at a summit in Washington DC, hosted by the Defense One , Winston Beauchamp, deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for space stated that nations on Earth must work together ‘get the human race off this planet onto another planet.’

Beauchamp said: “There is an erosion of some of the commonly accepted standards and norms, and there’s concern about that as folks around the world have tried to find advantage, find seams. That’s part of the reason why we want to codify our norms and behavior in space because it is such an important domain, not just for us but for humanity.”

As many experts in the past, Beauchamp too warned that mankind must look out for collisions or debris in orbit which could cause catastrophic events.

“We need to be able to operate in space both to advance our state of technology and eventually get the human race off this planet onto another planet. We can’t do that if we have to try to fly through a shell of debris,” said Beauchamp

Rear Admiral Brian Brown, head of the Navy Space Cadre, who also participated at the summit said that the United States are leading on developing new norms for the future.

Brown said: “Much like the maritime laws that we have, they are established over time by safe and responsible behaviors and patterns of life. That is something we are pushing for in a lot of different areas, so we don’t have miscalculations in space.” As space exploration advanced, Mr. Beauchamp warned that if another nation attacked US satellites in orbit, the Pentagon would not automatically respond in kind.

“It’s important to note that if something were to happen in space, our response wouldn’t necessarily be in space. If someone were to do something, we would respond in a time and place of our choosing, primarily because we wouldn’t expect something to happen in space in isolation. ‘It would be an extension of some conflict that would be occurring terrestrially.”

Interestingly, all of this comes after Professor Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk said just how important it was for mankind to colonize other worlds.

Not long ago, Stephen Hawking warned that mankind will not make it through another 1000 years on Earth, saying that we must ‘escape beyond our fragile planet’.

It is imperative –according to Professor Hawking— that the human race colonized other worlds in the cosmos.

Featured image by TobiasRoetsch