When we read about space exploration and space colonies, it's important to notice the reason given for the exploration or the colonies.

Sometimes, it's about the spirit of finding a new world and exploring the unknown and opening up the blank areas on the map. Sometimes, however, these stories are an expression of a fear of the end of Earth.

There is a dominant idea in SF that the earth is getting too crowded, polluted, destroyed by war, intolerant, expensive, etc.

The only way for mankind to be saved is by expansion into new territory. This gives writers an excellent chance to criticize the mistakes that have ruined the earth, and to warn of the consequences, while at the same time giving hope for the future. When writers give us pictures of the dangers and joys of space exploration and colonization, they give us converse pictures of what we lose, and what we are destroying, here on Earth. Go to the discussion board . Imagine your space colony. Will you try to re-create Earth? What will you change?