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This should be a 'must read' for everyone. Asimov imagines the 50 'Spacer' worlds, increasingly dependent on robots and their strained relationship with an over-populated Earth where people live rat-like lives inside efficient, underground dwellings. Earthlings no longer dare see the Sun. Solarians are increasingly unconfortable dealing with each others and are more dependent on their robots than they should.

We must escape into space or we have no future.

Funny. I thought of Asimov's several incredible series as I was reading this article, too. As I recall (it has been about 7 years since I've read the 15 or so books of Earth/Foundation/Robot/Gaia/etc) man first left Earth and founded a few worlds (7?) then lost the ability and interest in space travel and those all died. They did the same later on but founded 50 or so most of which survived, but became isolated from contact with each other. Only on the next attempt did space travel survive and prosper as described in Foundation. Hmm... I'm now thinking there was an even earlier discontinuation of space flight after initial preliminary exploration of the Solar system in Asimov's universe. Too much I don't recall... I guess it's time to reread all those books again. Such a chore I've set for myself... ;-)