The future of humanity is in the stars. We have to get off this rock eventually if only to prevent a random cosmic accident from wiping us out. Space is also full of resources we are going to need sooner rather than later. We should have had a colony on the moon and a man on Mars 2 decades ago. If my kids were grown and they offered to give me a one way ticket into space just to see "what is really out there" I would take it in a heartbeat for the sheer adventure and wonder of it.