  A foundational model has been developed based on trends built from empirical
data of space exploration and computing power through the first six plus
decades of the Space Age which projects earliest possible launch dates for
human-crewed missions from cis-lunar space to selected Solar System and
interstellar destinations. The model uses computational power, expressed as
transistors per microprocessor, as a key broadly limiting factor for deep space
missions' reach and complexity. The goal of this analysis is to provide a
projected timeframe for humanity to become a multi-world species through
off-world colonization, and in so doing all but guarantees the long-term
survival of the human race from natural and human-caused calamities that could
befall life on Earth. Be-ginning with the development and deployment of the
first nuclear weapons near the end of World War II, humanity entered a 'Window
of Peril' which will not be safely closed until robust off-world colonies
become a reality. Our findings suggest the first human-crewed missions to land
on Mars, selected Asteroid Belt objects, and selected moons of Jupiter and
Saturn can occur before the end of the 21st century. Launches of human-crewed
interstellar missions to exoplanet destinations within roughly 40 lightyears of
the Solar System are seen as possible during the 23rd century and launch of
intragalactic missions by the end of the 24th century. An aggressive and
sustained space exploration program, which includes colonization, is thus seen
as critical to the long-term survival of the human race.
