Prof Brian Cox Shares Vision For Expanding Humanity Beyond Earth

Professor Brian Cox has recently echoed the sentiments of a lot of top scientists and private investors, explaining that he agrees we could become a multi-planetary and interstellar civilisation.

Cox is currently promoting his new BBC series about the Solar System, and explained in an interview: “I really am of the view that our civilisation needs to expand beyond our planet for so many reasons.”

He explained some of the benefits of potentially expanding in this way, including the fact that we can potentially quench “civilisation’s thirst and requirement for more resources”.

Mining asteroids and other ways of getting resources from space may sound like science fiction but, he says, “it’s extremely important that we do it, and as quickly as possible”.

Cox Says We May Be Alone in Milky Way

Prof. Cox has stated that we might be the only civilisation in the Milky Way, and he even thinks we could be the only one to have existed in the galaxy, which he believes gives us even more of a need to explore:

“If that’s true, though, then our expansion beyond this planet becomes an obligation. Because if we don’t do that, nobody’s doing it. So if we don’t go out to the stars, nobody’s ever going out to the stars in this galaxy.

“So it becomes of overriding importance to begin to take those first steps.”

For his new BBC series, Prof Cox looks at the events happening in space via the latest missions. Nasa’s Europa Clipper, will be setting off on a five-and-a-half-year journey to Jupiter in October to explore whether the planet’s moon, Europa, could harbour conditions suitable for life. Some scientists have theorised that there could be a large saltwater ocean under an icy crust on the surface of Europa. 

When asked what we might find there, in terms of life, he explained: “It will be single-celled life at the very best, or something that looks a bit like single-celled life… We’re not expecting multi-cellular life there – partly because it took so long to develop here on Earth.”

Cox also teased that,given the chance, he would head into space himself. If Elon Musk were to provide him with the opportunity, he explained his response would be “up we go”.

Speaking to Radio Times about travelling to Earth’s giant neighbour if he was invited, Prof Cox said: “No, I wouldn’t go, it’d be horrible!

“I can’t picture going on a two-year journey in a capsule – but I can picture going on a week-long journey in space. I was always obsessed with Apollo, so I’d love to go to the Moon.”