Stephen Hawking, the coolest physicist since Einstein, said finding new homes elsewhere in the universe is a must to guarantee the survival of the human race. "We won't find anywhere as nice as Earth unless we go to another star system," said Hawking. Up is the only way to go because of the increasing risk that a disaster will destroy the Earth.

Hawking named some of the possible disasters that could wipe us out as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a run-away genetically engineered virus or other dangers not yet thought of. "It is important for the human race to spread out into space for the survival of the species."

The British astrophysicist also said humans could have a permanent base on the moon in 20 years and a colony on Mars in the next 40 years. Beyond the moon and the red planet, Hawking said homo sapiens could be living in space settlements without support from Earth in the next century. That is if they don't annihilate all life on this planet first. Hawking is the author of the best selling book, A Brief History of Time, widely regarded as the book that everyone bought but only a handful actually read.