TOWARDS BECOMING A MULTI-PLANET SPECIES.

The future exploration of the solar system will be a mix of humans and machines working together. In some cases the human-machine link may be over thousands to tens of million kilometers. In other cases it may be just a few meters, as humans themselves visit and work on other planets. In addition to the scientific investigation and the possible development of utilitarian applications on other planets, one of the principal aims of solar system exploration is to understand and develop the role of humans off of the planet Earth. One can conceive of very limited roles with occasional forays of exploration or of much more involved roles, leading to possible colonization on other planets. More limited models may be valid with machines doing most of the investigation - such as in our underwater activities in the ocean. It is to be emphasized here, and specifically cited later, that saying this is not to set up Mars missions as having priority over other space (or terrestrial) activities.