This document discusses humanity's journey to the stars and the future of civilization. It examines questions around whether we are alone in the universe and Fermi's paradox of why we haven't encountered other civilizations. Various models of civilization development and collapse are presented, as well as ideas around ensuring the long term survival of civilization through backups of genomes and the biosphere. The future of space exploration through technologies like 3D printing and self-replicating robots is also considered.