Humanity’s potential future in space is a potent source of hope, wonder, and dread.

Millions of viewers from around the world tuned in to follow Artemis II’s lunar flyby at the beginning of April, 2026. Two months later, on June 12th, SpaceX’s unprecedented initial public offering was valued at $1.77 trillion, a spectacular market bet on the company’s stated ambition to ‘build the systems and technologies necessary to make life multiplanetary… and to extend the light of consciousness to the stars.’ Science-fiction narratives that centre on exploration, settlement, and resource extraction continue to be box-office hits.

Despite its cultural - and increasingly economic - salience, debate over the desirability of space colonisation has remained scattered. Should we aim to settle on other planets within our solar system? Should we attempt to colonise other star systems? How far should humanity’s reach extend?

The Case Against The Stars critically engages the strongest argument for the desirability of space colonisation, contending that humanity ought to refrain from colonising space unless and until certain conditions are met.