SECTION 4ADVANCED STRATEGIES:SOPHISTICATED CYBERSECURITY OPERATIONS
Our understanding of our universe, our planet, and ourselves was revolutionized when we deepened and broadened our examination of our surroundings both in the heavens and on Earth. With increased visibility into space, we understood—and continue to better understand—where we came from, where we are now, and where we're going. The same is true on our planet: we're examining and inspecting the complex and small details that are often hidden from our view so that we can better understand their potential for good as well as the ways that they can harm us.
We're also actively planning for failure. In my view, our exploration of space, in the long run, is about preserving the human race when our sun dies and destroys the earth (all stars expand and inevitably die out). With that in mind, space exploration is (in addition to the near-term scientific benefits) ultimately about finding a new planet, around another star, to inhabit after the sun burns away the earth's life, water, and atmosphere. We have already started those incremental and necessary steps by sending astronauts to the moon, robots to other planets, and soon astronauts to Mars. But before we could send anyone to the moon or robots to Mars and beyond, we first had to orbit Earth. So whenever we wonder about the value of pursuing seemingly basic things ...