If interstellar Colonies become possible, who goes first?

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

It seems that the only reasonable motivation for full colonies rather than scientific outposts is one of extreme somewhat self-harming xenophobia. Religious zealotry just being a subset of that.

I think that would be true, in many cases. However, others would want to do it, just to do it, "because it's there."

I mean, I'm not a xenophobe or a sociopath, but if I had the skills needed and somebody made me an offer, I'd go help colonize Mars, without hesitation. What a great thing to do with one's life!

Sometimes, people do things just to do them, or for the adventure of it, or just because they find everyday life tediously dull.

I think it would be awesome to be the first person to ever walk through a particular valley, or see the view from the top of a particular hill. While I don't think there are all that many people with similar outlooks, there are certainly enough to colonize any number of planets, over the course of several centuries.