[bentcorner]

I personally believe that the legacy we send to the stars will be silicon.

Robots have landed on Mars. Maybe they will even figure out how to use minerals on Mars to build more of themselves. It is plausible to me that as far as space exploration is concerned that it will be autonomous within a few hundred years.

[Nevermark]

I would think autonomous by the end of the century at the latest. More like 2055 or 2060.

The rush to the Moon and then Mars is going to push robotics along the learning curve toward an explosion in off-world activity.

Asteroids will be where resource extraction goes off the charts.

[red-iron-pine]

earth's global ecosystem better not collapse before then -- and we're on track to make that happen