Inspirational story, thanks for posting. I am as super enthusiastic about the prospects of space as anyone, especially after 5 years working in spacecraft technology myself, some years ago.

But I worry a little that we might be trying to fly before we can walk.

Learning to survive on planet Earth is a prototype activity of surviving anywhere else.

If we can’t do it here, then we have no chance of doing it anywhere else.

The secret to surviving here is the effective utilisation of the local energy source; the sun.

Just as pretty much every successful spacecraft needs to be designed to do that effectively, so does Earth.

We already live on a spacecraft, just a really big one.

Probably the biggest mistake we could make right now is to continue ignoring that simple truth, whilst investing irreplaceable resources in a “Planet B” space program.

I think Elon would do well to remind that the original grand intention of his company’s namesake, Tesla, was to furnish the planet with free energy tapped from the sun.

Temporarily shifting emphasis towards that from Space vehicle research, would not take much.

The same types of industry must provide the solution.

Otherwise, there is no conceivable future for humanity, either on Earth or anywhere else.