If we’re going to have a space civilization, it has to start somewhere.
In the last few years, many scientists, climate scientists especially, have cautioned humanity against assuming there’s a second Earth out there somewhere. They’re definitely right, there is no other Earth, and if something were to happen to our dear blue marble, things would be pretty dire for us. But even if there aren’t any celestial bodies exactly like Earth, there are a few out there that might just barely be able to handle humanity.
When you think of other planets for humans to live on, what are the first ones you think of? The moon, maybe Mars? The moon would certainly be convenient due to its proximity to Earth, but it’s literally just a floating rock; there’s no resources to harvest on it. As for Mars, ongoing research has revealed the possibility of things like water, which is a big help, but the constant dust storms might make building stuff a little tricky. If you’d like a suggestion for another planet, may I offer Titan?
Though technically a moon rather than a planet, Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is more than big enough to be considered a planet, and has usable resources besides. It’s got plenty of methane, entire lakes of the stuff in fact, so we’d have no shortage of fuel. There’s no air or water, though, so that might need to be shipped in from elsewhere, unless there’s ice under the surface we haven’t found yet.
I do very much want humanity to take to the stars en masse one day. I just hope it’s because we want to and not because we need to. At least we’re not hard up for halfway decent options.