The survival of the human race depends on its ability to find new homes elsewhere in the universe because there is an increasing chance that a disaster will destroy the Earth, world-renowned scientist Stephen Hawking said today.
That's the lead of an Associated Press story out of a news conference in Hong Kong. Hawking told reporters with the AP and other news organizations that humans could have a permenant base on the moon in 20 years and a colony on Mars in the next 40 years.
"We won't find anywhere as nice as Earth unless we go to another star system," said Hawking. The AP said the British astrophysicist arrived to a "rock star's welcome" on Monday and that tickets for a Wednesday lecture are sold out.
Hawking said that if humans can avoid killing themselves in the next 100 years, they should have space settlements that can thrive without support from Earth.
"It's important for the human race to spread out into space for the survival of the species," Hawking was quoted as saying. "Life on Earth is at the ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster, such as such as sudden global warming, a nuclear war or a genetically engineered virus or other dangers that we have not yet thought of."
Hawking, 64, is the author of the global best seller "A Brief History of Time." He is wheelchair-bound and communicates with the help of a computer because he suffers from the neurological disorder amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.
Image note: Click to enlarge this Associated Press photo of Hawking listening to a reporter's question at a news conference today in Hong Kong.
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