> It also elides the fact that, at a time of increasing automation here on Earth, the rush to send human colonists to space seems quaint, if not misguided.

Personally I find that with all the recent Space X announcements, space exploration really feels like the future is arriving. It turns out we don't need flying cars, but having space rockets that land themselves, having moon bases and people on Mars genuinely is the future.

This kind of stuff excites me and makes me long for the future. Automation doesn't.

Obligatory XKCD: https://www.xkcd.com/1232/