8 Expert Theories About Our Future In Space
"Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying."
With Elon Musk unveiling his Mars plans, an ever expanding collection of Earth-like exoplanets being discovered and a steady stream of "mysterious signals from space" hitting the headlines, it feels as though we are on the cusp of either discovering alien life in the universe, or getting off-world and becoming alien life ourselves (or, indeed, both).
Some say that the space age has been and gone, and our parents (or grandparents) were the last ones to enjoy the golden age of space travel, when it felt like anyone could reach the stars if they had enough grit and American spirit. But others are more optimistic, maintaining that humanity is ripe for some Moon Landings 2: Electric Boogaloo shenanigans.
After a long hard slog of space exploration being the preserve of the super smart, PhD types, we could be about to send actual normal people off into the void.
But what about the aliens? Again, these might not be the little green men of our parents' generation, but many experts believe that we are this close to finding life in the universe. Sure, it might be a microbe, or even a computer, but it's still pretty exciting.
So, what do the experts have to say about the state of the human space race?