On a shorter-term basis, I talked about the potential of point-to-point travel – with Virgin Galactic spaceships taking people across the globe in a matter of hours. It turned out Chris tried out engines for inter-continental travel when he was a test pilot in the 1980s, even mounting one on the wing-tip of an F1! As well as being an astronaut, he has been a downhill ski instructor, a fighter pilot and a university professor. There’s nothing like a varied CV!
We also discussed the potential of private trips for couples looking for romance in space. It’s certainly something we’ll consider in the future - we may have to change the name of the company from Virgin though! Watch the video here.
When it came to looking 45 years ahead, my thoughts turned to colonisation. Stephen Hawking has urged us to colonise other planets, because he feels there is a danger that one day a giant asteroid could hit the earth and destroy mankind.
What a waste of all those years of man evolving if there are no people left on earth. Colonising another planet is very important for the future of mankind, even if we don’t get snuffed out, we’ll learn wonderful things from it.
Chris agreed, and focused on the moon as our first port of call. He said: “We will go from the space station as our first great outpost in space to the moon, where we will set up a base much like Antarctica. And we will be living on the moon, temporarily at first and then permanently over the next 45 or 50 years. And we will learn so much from that. Then let´s go further, to asteroids and even as far as Mars. My prediction: The space station to the moon to asteroids to Mars - that´s where we´re headed.”
Sounds like a plan to me! Now, what are your predictions?
Source: virgin.com/richard-branson