Asteroids, rogue gamma-ray bursts and powerful solar flares are just some of the dangers that lurk in the depths of space. Approximately 65 million years ago, the dinosaurs met their end when a six-mile-wide asteroid struck the planet in what is modern-day Mexico. In 2013, more than 1,000 people were injured when an undetected asteroid slipped into the atmosphere and exploded above Russia’s Chelyabinsk Oblast or region. Because of these past incidents, the chief of communications of the world’s first space nation told Express.co.uk it is time for humans to consider leaving the planet.
Lena De Winne, who represents the interests of the space nation Asgardia, argued the likelihood of danger is simply too big to ignore.
But moving into space comes with its own set of problems, such as adapting to a zero-gravity environment or developing systems to protect us from space radiation.
Mrs De Winne said: “Asgardia in principle does not interfere into Earth’s politics but at the same time we want to monitor what we see around us, therefore this vision that is the core vision of Dr Ashurbeyli who founded Asgardia, is the birth of the first human in space.
“Once this happens, once the fist human is born and the mother and the father are healthy and can develop and have the possibility to return to Earth and then to travel again, it guarantees the survival of the human race in eternity.
READ MORE: Space rock comparable to dinosaur killer is heading Earth’s way
“Today we are entirely dependant on the attachment to resources on the planet Earth but if you look at what Stephen Hawking said, any one species bound to one planet is due to go extinct.”
Similarly, Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky famously said: “The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever.”
Right now, Mrs De Winne claimed, we are at the technological border of being able to take this next step into space.
Asgardia founder Dr Ashurbeyli envisioned a 25-year timeframe between now and the birth of the first child in space.
READ MORE: ‘Renegade’ stars are exploding in never-seen-before phenomena
According to space agency NASA, an asteroid like the one that killed the dinosaurs strikes the planet every 50 million to 100 million years.
Smaller asteroids, ones that could cause local cataclysms, happen much more frequently.
High-energy solar flares like the 1859 Carrington Event can wipe out electronic equipment, satellites and power grids across the planet if they happen today.
Rogue gamma-ray bursts from outside of the solar system can wash over the Earth and destroy our ozone layer, leaving the planet vulnerable to UV radiation.
Astronomers are also certain four billion years from now, the dying Sun will expand into a so-called red giant and scorch our planet alongside Venus and Mercury.
At the same time, the Andromeda Galaxy is expected to come crashing into our Milky Way.
But threats also exist on the planet – supervolcanoes like Yellowstone are active and climate change is becoming increasingly dangerous.
Mrs De Winne said: “No matter how strong, or how wonderful or how advanced our technologies are, we keep running into events, which were not foreseen.
“So all it tells us is we need to be aware, we cannot underestimate what we are facing.
“In the face of all these threats, all of the politics suddenly become irrelevant because we are all humans and we all have the basic survival needs.”