Not much point. We have plentiful resources (despite the cries of oil shortage) right underneath us, and our technology will at some point reach the stage where solar power is viable. What are we going to mine some planet for precious stones? It would only decrease their value as the supply grew dramatically.
The distances traveled without the use of science fiction warp drives and the costs associated with launching even 1 man into space makes it a bad investment.
Besides, I have a feeling that our electronic technology and reliance on it will be our undoing in the next 100 years due to some cataclysm.
Icarus was a very good tale.
“Not much point.”
Now that is just plain ignorant. One reason it would be difficult to find and communicate with alien intelligent lifeforms is because so many of them were made extinct before they left there planet and their galactic neighborhood to avoid extinction events that killed them all. The Earth is certainly no exception. Human life will become extinct in the not very distant future unless humans colonize the outer solar system and outer galactic neighborhood. Humans are lucky to have gotten this far without a major impact event causing our extinction. It takes a considerable amount of time to develop the capability for establishing self-sustaining communities large enough to guarantee the indefinite survival of humans. Unless humans begin the effort now, a catastrophic event may destroy humanity before the task is accomplished.
Rhe only question is whetherhumans have achieved sufficient intelligence to understand the threat and then decide to meet the challenge instead of sitting around to be hammered to death and extinction.