[Expectant_Philosopher (OP)]

Are we just a million monkeys spread over the universe, and just that one monkey gets it right?  Why don't our scientists find the same answers as those successful travelers who have made it to our shores? 

[David Cooper]

How do you know there are any successful ones out there? They may all reach a point where they carry out a "safe" experiment that wipes them out.

[alancalverd]

Just sticking to materials and technology, we are still using the same elements as our prehistoric ancestors but it took a long time for our species to come up with carbon fiber and the jet engine, never mind ablative heat shields and radiation-hardened electronics. The Martians, who had a billion year start on us, almost certainly solved all the problems of long range space travel before they ran out of water and died.