What is the future of humanity and space travel

[spoohunter]

While I admit my fascination with space travel and colonization is a result of endless exposure to science fiction as a child, I think it is a subject that lacks the serious discussion it warrants.

Should the colonization of other worlds be something very much on the political radar? Or is it less important than concepts like ending world hunger and creating world peace?

It is scientifically possible, or will be it be in the near future?

Should we aim to terraform mars? Find a planet somewhere with an earthlike atmosphere and colonize it? If we colonize, how do we keep people alive long enough to get out there?

The only feasible possibility I see besides colonizing say, Mars, is creating huge ecosystems, like space stations, filling them with enough people to function as a society, reproducing as they travel, and send them to other far-a-way planets.

I also think it is incredibly important.