Indeed, the space-hysteria is a remnant of the 60s i guess and we should be over it by now. There's nothing special about our reachable outer space - just dumb rocks and no possibility of life. Realistically speaking, an optimistic version should include a smaller population of humans, the old megacities replaced with sustainable habitat, people living extraordinarily long lives (200+ earth years), the end of all disease, artificially intelligent agents, the ability to "upload" knowledge to our brains, humans with enhanced cognitive abilities, new life forms etc.
