Hi Raoul & Jeff

As space enthusiasts we know all these things, but most of the general public was sold on Space back in the 30s, 40s & 50s by endless tales of possible life Out There. Science fiction expected wonders, but space exploration has given us hostile No-Man's Lands. Even free space is full of cosmic rays and Solar Mass Ejection events and flares. Nasty stuff.

I don't think space is utterly hostile, but it's not a friendly place and a hell of a lot harder to survive than the old stories imagined. Plus a lot more expensive to get to because we don't have safe atomic rockets, and nowhere to go in sufficient numbers to make it cheaper.

Space is hard. And there's not much inducement to actually go in person for multi-year Hohmann cruises to the nearby planets. Robots are fine, but kind of disappointing.

Adam