We can start it in a few years. And it can assist in part by just showing that we have a societal capacity to do great things. In the words of Carl Sagan: https

We can start it in a few years. And it can assist in part by just showing that we have a societal capacity to do great things. In the words of Carl Sagan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xtly-dpBeA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xtly-dpBeA (And we don't need to and probably shouldn't spend a lot on this. What we currently spend on space exploration/settlement through agencies like NASA is sufficient for this. And we also get the spin-off technology advantages.)