Star Trek skipper not so bold

The captain of the USS Enterprise thinks people should stay on Earth instead of boldly going into space.

Actor Patrick Stewart, who plays Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the TV series Star Trek, told the BBC that he thinks interplanetary travel for humans is a bad idea.

“I’m a bit of a wet blanket when it comes to the whole business of space travel,” Stewart was quoted as saying on the BBC’s Web site.

“I would like to see us get this place right first before we have the arrogance to put significantly flawed civilisations out onto other planets - even though they may be utterly uninhabited,” he said.

Stewart said he approved of unmanned missions such as Nasa’s use of twin rovers to explore the surface of Mars. But he objected to manned trips, saying they were too expensive.

“As I get older, my unease at the time and the money that has to be spent on projects putting human beings back to the moon, and on to another planet, is so enormous,” Stewart said. “And it would take up so many resources, which I personally feel should be directed at our own planet.”

The BBC said Stewart made the comments in an interview with its World Service radio broadcast.