Posted by tourdemars to Humans To Mars at September 9, 2009 04:35 PM

"We should establish a self-supporting colony on Mars," suggests J Richard Gott, professor of astrophysical sciences as Princeton University in the US. "That would make us a two-planet species and improve our long-term survival prospects by giving us two chances instead of one." As one might expect, his belief in the species-saving potential of space exploration is echoed by Sir Richard, whose Virgin Galactic company plans to offer orbital flight for paying passengers. "If we are going to survive as a civilisation we need low energy and environmental access to space on an industrial scale," he told the magazine.