Just as we, and all life on earth, stand on this tiny speck, adrift in infinite space, so life in the universe will only exist for a fleeting, bright instant in time. Because life, just like the stars and the planets and the galaxies, is just a temporary structure on the long road from order to disorder.

But that doesn’t make us insignificant, because we are the cosmos made conscious. Life is the means by which the universe understands itself. And for me, our true significance lies in our ability, and our desire, to understand and explore this beautiful universe.