Tweet
"Stephen Hawking, who spent his career decoding the universe and even experienced weightlessness, is urging the continuation of space exploration — for humanity’s sake.
The 71-year-old Hawking said he did not think humans would survive another 1,000 years “without escaping beyond our fragile planet.”
The British cosmologist made the remarks Tuesday before an audience of doctors, nurses and employees at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he toured a stem cell laboratory that’s focused on trying to slow the progression of Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Hawking was diagnosed with the neurological disorder 50 years ago while a student at Cambridge University. He recalled how he became depressed and initially didn’t see a point in finishing his doctorate. But he continued to delve into his studies.
“If you understand how the universe operates, you control it in a way,” he said."
Full story : http://washington.cbslocal.com/2013/...scaping-earth/
I don't think we'd make it another 500 years with the way we have been cutting our space programs budget. During the 1950's - 1970's it was one of the top priorities of both Russia and the US to explore many different regions of our galaxy. Now we've made so many cuts, that we're having to get taxi rides to the ISS with the very people we competed against just a few decades ago. Who knows what we could achieve if we got back to the 50's mindset of trying to see where else can we go in our solar system. We might even find the origins of where that damn cowskin rug came from!
The 71-year-old Hawking said he did not think humans would survive another 1,000 years “without escaping beyond our fragile planet.”
The British cosmologist made the remarks Tuesday before an audience of doctors, nurses and employees at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he toured a stem cell laboratory that’s focused on trying to slow the progression of Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Hawking was diagnosed with the neurological disorder 50 years ago while a student at Cambridge University. He recalled how he became depressed and initially didn’t see a point in finishing his doctorate. But he continued to delve into his studies.
“If you understand how the universe operates, you control it in a way,” he said."
Full story : http://washington.cbslocal.com/2013/...scaping-earth/
I don't think we'd make it another 500 years with the way we have been cutting our space programs budget. During the 1950's - 1970's it was one of the top priorities of both Russia and the US to explore many different regions of our galaxy. Now we've made so many cuts, that we're having to get taxi rides to the ISS with the very people we competed against just a few decades ago. Who knows what we could achieve if we got back to the 50's mindset of trying to see where else can we go in our solar system. We might even find the origins of where that damn cowskin rug came from!
Comment