I am sometimes amazed at how prevalent the notion of planet hopping is in science fiction. Particularly since there are no Earth-like approximates within reasonable range. Even Mars, our most likely candidate in the neighborhood, is a far cry from being hospitable. So we imagine traveling at warp speeds and through wormholes to get to places inaccessible by any other means. Of course, at this point such travel is the stuff of dreams.

So I look at it from a slightly different perspective. Consider this: if instead of using the available carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen to produce energy to fight against the force of gravity, what if we used those same resources to serve the biological needs of living things? Of course, that means escaping the bondage of gravity, which is done easily enough - we simply migrate into the surrounding space and spend our time in delightful free fall around the Sun! With the abundance of the necessary elements all with easy reach, we won't have to go any further than our own back yard.