I agree in general with the points made in this article, except for the trope that "humans are natural explorers." In fact, DNA evidence shows 90% of all humans who have ever lived have died within 5k/3 miles of their place of birth. Until the age of mass tourism post-WWII, most movement en mass was due to exogenous factors such as invasion, famine, and climate change rendering former habitation unsuitable. In general, people hate to be displaced from what they know. We fear loss far more than we value potential gain. For me the sad thing about all the billions spent on silly fanboy Star Trek-inspired pointlessness is that for a fraction of the sum we could fund robotic missions that would reveal wonders. Pushing humans out of Earth's gravity well has no value, but scientific exploration is priceless. Alas, as is so often the case with our species, we're doing it exactly the wrong way around.