Next Stop, Themis

Say hello to the asteroids of the inner solar system! Note the wave like effect of Jupiter - it pushes asteroids ahead of it, and another group of asteroids follow in its wake.

But, the key to this picture is the white ring of Asteroids in the Asteroid Belt proper, with the giant Themis highlighted. Recent analysis reveals Themis is covered in ice - water ice. Tons and tons and tons of water ice. Point? Where there is water, there can be life. This is another in a series of major revelations about the presence of water in the Solar System - water has been found on the Moon, Mars, moons of Jupiter and Saturn, and now asteroids. It's likely there's water everywhere out there, and that's not something we knew or could even be confident in just 10 years ago.

These water resources will inevitably be used as fueling stations for humanity's expansion into the solar system. I hope I am around to see some of it.