Let’s get real: As far as we know, Earth is all we’ve got. I mean, if we screw this place up, it’s a big deal, cause you know, until the warp drive is commercially produced, the Centauri and Kepler systems will stay out of reach.
Sure, with the Artemis mission, NASA is planning to establish a permanent presence on the moon, but who really wants to live there? It’s a cold, dead rock with almost no atmosphere, unrenewable ice under the surface, 1/6th of Earth’s gravity (which would cause you to grow much taller if born there), and amazingly blue earthrises. Okay, I’ll admit — it’s actually sounding better all the time.
Still, even if you lived on the moon, you’d miss Earth. Everything and everyone you’ve ever known has called this cozy little terran planet home. And it has a lot to offer: An atmosphere full of nitrogen and oxygen, food, water, and various lifeforms. And don't forget... the internet.
Speaking of the internet, I found an interesting gem the other day. It's a list of all known exoplanets. "What's the difference between a planet and an exoplanet?" you ask. Well, in case you aren't familiar with the term, they are basically the same thing, it's just that an exoplanet orbits around a different star. Different, like, in a different solar system.
The cool thing is, we've discovered systems like Kepler and Trappist that seem to have habitable exoplanets orbiting those stars. "We should go!" you say. And yes, I agree. It would be great fun. As soon as we can invent cryosleep to get us through the decades-long lightyear journey. Actually, sleep is the easy part; waking up is what's so challenging.
Until then, I guess you'll just have to make do wondering what those other planets are like. To feed your curiosity, here's the official list: https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/discovery/exoplanet-catalog/
But if that doesn't satisfy you, we just happen to have a couple of stories that may just expand your imagination:
The Gift by K.B. Cottrill and The Venusian Pioneer by J.A. Taylor.