![US Top Stories from Associated Press (AP) show](/assets/missing_small.png)
Summary: LOS ANGELES (AP) , Stephen Hawking, who spent his career decoding the universe and even experienced weightlessness, is urging the continuation of space exploration , for humanity's sake. The 71-year-old Hawking said he did not think humans would survive another 1,000 years "without escaping beyond our fragile planet."