Interesting question--WOULD you explore space?

[Jim Lane]

67. Are we SURE these are friendly aliens?

I don't want to end up as the one shouting "It's a trap!"

Perhaps, with so much Star Trek in this thread, I wouldn't have to worry about emulating a Star Wars meme. Or maybe the aliens just don't like hydrogen in their diet.

If it's not aliens, and just us, I'd have some hesitation about going. My guess is that, popular entertainment notwithstanding, a lot of the trip would be pretty dull.
* Week One. "This is the Captain speaking. We've entered another new star system. It has no planets. We're moving on."
* Week Two. ""This is the Captain speaking. We've entered another new star system. It has no habitable planets. We're moving on."
* Week Three. "This is the Captain speaking. We've entered another new star system. It has a planet that's mostly way too hot for us but there's a patch at each pole that's sort of like the Sahara. Anyone want shore leave before we move on?"

The really interesting stuff would be to encounter new life and new civilizations, and I suspect we'd find few or none of them. Goddam Fermi.