Space is a vast and dangerous place. The enormous distances between the stars means that it would take centuries to reach the nearest star to our solar system. Alpha Centauri is only 4.27 light years from the Sun but it would still take about 50,000 years on our fastest spacecraft to reach it. Given these obstacles are the stars barred from us forever? Should we even try for interstellar spaceflight?

Despite the many challenges that face the prospect of interstellar travel humankind should never stop trying to develop new methods of space travel. Scientist Stephen Hawking said in an interview to the website Big Think that humanity must spread out to the stars or perish.

"Our population and use of the finite resources of planet Earth are growing exponentially, along with our technical ability to change the environment for good or ill," he said. "But our genetic code carries selfish and aggressive instincts that were a survival advantage in the past. It will be difficult enough to avoid disaster in the next 100 years let alone the next thousand or a million. If we can avoid disaster for the next two centuries our species should be safe as we spread into space."

It's a highly pessimistic view of the future of our species but it serves as a stark reminder that colonizing other planets and reaching for new stars is the solution to most of the energy problems we face today. But practical considerations aside space exploration speaks to what makes us human and that is our never-ending quest to know more. We are a curious species and this curiosity has served us well and catapulted our species to make the most astounding discoveries and technological leaps. Aiming for interstellar space is also a way for our species to work together and put off our petty wars and monetary concerns. We can't build starships without the cooperation of everybody on the planet. Getting to space will also mark the maturity of our species that we have evolved enough to put aside our trivial fights to work together for a common goal.

Now that we've determined that we need to venture out to interstellar space the more pressing question is do we even have the capability to do so? Our current rocket technology isn't enough to reach overcome the distances between stars. Voyager 1, will be the first spacecraft to reach interstellar space but it only got there after three decades touring our solar system. That's simply not going to cut it for manned spacecraft. We need to develop more advanced methods of space flight.

Some potential propulsion technologies that could be used for future spaceships include light sails, antimatter and fusion. Of the three, light sails are the most technologically viable. Light sails use the radiation pressure of light from a star or laser to push ultra-thin mirrors to high speeds. The only successful light sail is the IKAROS spacecraft launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on May 21, 2010. On July 9 it was verified that IKAROS had collected radiation from the Sun and began photon acceleration. IKAROS will spend six months travelling to Venus and then will begin a three-year journey to the Sun.

Of course even if we could successfully develop fusion or antimatter propulsion they still wouldn't be fast enough for interstellar travel. The only way to overcome those distances is with a theory that's been talked about endlessly in science fiction and that is the warp drive. Physicist Miguel Alcubierre actually proposed a way we could utilize the warp drive like the crew of the Enterprise. He theorized that we could move space-time around a spaceship so that it will be cocooned in a warp bubble. The bubble will be moved by the expansion of the space behind it and the contraction of the space in front of it. The spacecraft will then be able to cruise to great distances by this expansion and contraction. Such a technology is still decades or even centuries ahead of us but it is theoretically possible. And given the rapid pace of technological advancement such developments could soon be in our reach.

The Earth is the cradle of humankind but one cannot live in the cradle forever. This quote from Soviet rocket scientist and pioneer of the astronautic theory Konstantin Tsiolkovsky sums up why we should set out for the stars. There comes a time when we must leave Earth and face the dangers of space.