A few months before his death, the eminent theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking warned humanity of an impending planetary catastrophe. His predictions, based on scientific models, are now being confirmed by organizations such as NASA.
Speaking at the Tencent WE 2017 Summit in Beijing, Hawking said that by the year 2600, the Earth will turn into a "huge fireball." He attributed this to exponential population growth, depletion of natural resources, and uncontrolled pollution. Hawking called on humanity to prepare now for the colonization of other planets to avoid the complete destruction of the species.
Although NASA disagreed with the physicist's specific timeline, in late 2024 the agency officially announced that it was studying Hawking's research as part of its analysis of global environmental risks. The agency's experts acknowledged that the current pace of consumption and environmental degradation could indeed lead to disaster — and even faster than Hawking had suggested.
In addition, Hawking actively supported projects aimed at interplanetary expansion, in particular, the Breakthrough Starshot , which involves launching thousands of mini-probes to the nearest star systems in order to find new homes for humanity.
"If we don't start colonizing other planets, we are doomed. The future of humanity is between the stars," Hawking argued.
NASA, in turn, continues to study the possibility of creating extraterrestrial settlements, including on Mars. Although the actual timeframe remains uncertain, experts agree that our civilization needs to prepare for the fact that Earth will not be habitable forever.
