Future space exploration, involving both robotic and human missions, aims to gather new information about our Solar System and establish scientific outposts, potentially leading to permanent settlements on the Moon and Mars. The driving force has shifted from the 20th-century Space Race to protecting humanity from catastrophic events and leveraging space resources, with private companies like SpaceX, using reusable rockets such as the Falcon 9, playing a crucial role in reducing costs. Space colonization is increasingly viewed as vital for ensuring human survival through planetary dispersal and for accessing vast resources in the asteroid belt, which could also help move polluting industries off Earth.

Furthermore, the unique microgravity environment of space enables groundbreaking biomedical research at the International Space Station (ISS), exploring new treatments for complex diseases like Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and developing vaccines. Looking beyond, ambitious projects include the Rosalind Franklin Mars rover by the European Space Agency and the 2016 Breakthrough Starshot initiative, founded by Yuri Milner, Stephen Hawking, and Mark Zuckerberg, which aims to send light-sail spacecraft to the Alpha Centauri star system.