“In both these works, the exploration of space proved to be a dead end, as there is little to be gained by near-solar system interplanetary space travel and the vastness of space itself makes intergalactic space travel impossible to achieve.”
With unlimited energy available (both solar and nuclear), the solar system alone offers hundreds of times the livable habitat available on Earth. Raw materials abound in asteroids, comets, moons and planets. It was just discovered that Ceres contains vast amounts of water. Constructing massive space habitats is within the reach of current technology, as well as colonizing the Moon and planets.
Even the Oort cloud is available, again with unimaginable resources and wealth. Eventually, and perhaps sooner rather than later, interstellar ships will bring humanity to new star systems, and Man will become an interstellar species.
Intergalactic travel won’t be of interest for a very, very long time if ever. The Milky Way has over 100 billion stars to explore in its own right.
The future is very literally boundless.
“...the solar system alone offers hundreds of times the livable habitat available on Earth.”
I appreciate your thoughtful response, but I respectfully disagree. The Sahara Desert is vast, but few people would choose to live there. In the near solar system, everything necessary for life would have to be brought along and generated locally, including the air you breathe. Whatever raw materials you might find would have to be heavily processed in difficult conditions. Everything you did would be an effort to recreate in a distant place what you already have close at hand here on Earth.
Interplanetary space travel is driven by the search for another Earth-like planet. The practical realities of such travel makes it unlikely that you’d ever find such a planet or be able to get there if you did.
The future for Man is not “boundless”. Only God is boundless with the Universe being less so. To assert otherwise is simply post-modern atheistic hubris expressing Man’s lack of humility.