In order to explore even just our own solar system, we will need to design spaceships that can travel at least to one percent of the speed of light. The distances are such that on order to get to the distant places such as Mars or the moons of Jupite...
This short essay, that is an update of THE CHILDREN OF AN ALIEN GOD, contains the reason and justification for spending money to search for signs of life elsewhere in the galaxy by looking for radio signals that might be being broadcast by alien cult...