Humans cannot survive on earth beyond 1,000 years: Stephen Hawking

Theoretical scientist and astronomer Stephen Hawking is clear that humanity cannot survive on earth beyond a thousand years. He warned that it wouldn't do to continue to stay on here. "Haul your butt to Mars (and beyond)," he said.

He was speaking at the Oxford Union, where he said that humans cannot live beyond another thousand years even though there are so many threats including "climate change, nuclear war, and artificial intelligence."

"I think the human race has no future if it doesn't go to space," he noted. It is also a "near certainty" that disaster is going to hit the human race if it stays put on an earth that seems so "fragile." Many challenges on Earth, such as the rapid depletion of natural resources, is something that humanity cannot overcome, he said.

Even as space exploration is expanding, private companies such as Boeing and SpaceX are continuing the attempt to explore space from NASA and related government bodies. Even as NASA is searching for livable planets, Elon Musk recently put forth some plans to colonise Mars.

"Although the chance of a disaster to planet Earth in a given year may be quite low, it adds up over time, and becomes a near certainty in the next 1,000 or 10,000 years," Hawking explained. "By that time we should have spread out into space, and to other stars, so a disaster on Earth would not mean the end of the human race."

In the end, though, Hawking has some brave words: "Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet," he said Monday. "However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don't just give up. Be curious."