For a long time, I have been interested in Space Settlement, but I had trouble articulating the reasons why. I think Space Settlement still has the aura of "Science Fantasy" about it, and maybe that is partly why. At a deep level, I think Space Settlement is important for many reasons, but I'll list a few of them here:
1. It has the potential to open up vast new (untapped) resources and vastly increase the world's wealth as we build these habitats using material from New Earth Objects. Many of the asteroids are worth trillions of dollars in base metals in today's prices.
2. It has the potential to restore a grand vision to this great country, which is currently struggling through a sluggish economy, and an astronomical (no pun intended) debt; that vision launched the Space Age and landed an American Astronaut on the moon.
3. It's a great form of insurance for us -- should the Earth be destroyed by a meteor or some other natural disaster or even a man made disaster like a global nuclear, biological or chemical war, human civilization would continue. Actually, this is the ONLY option we have for extending ALL life beyond the confines of Earth.
