The DU Lounge

As a child, I was sure that humans would have a permanent space station and moon base by now. (It was only later that I realized that the only reason the U.S. put so much money and effort into the space program in the 60s was our fear of the Soviets.)

As far as simple survival goes, the carbon/CO2 sinks would seem to be a main priority, along with learning how to detect big rocks and deflect them from impact with the planet. Any space elevators or orbital rings would just be gravy.

Of course, the Great Filter may have other ideas about our long term survival.