I’m not aware of any systematic investigations. One thing to keep in mind is there’s a big distinction between say going to Mars and going to planets in another solar system. Going to a whole other system reduces more existential risks but requires a lot more investment.
It might make more sense to think of this in terms of specific risks and whether they would be avoided simply by having a backup population. Obvious examples in that category are asteroids and nanotech disasters. The first however is more easily dealt with by careful observation and moving the asteroids out of the way. The second is much harder to quantify but many people who actually study nanotech consider it to be unlikely.
Colonies do however also protect against the unknown unknowns. But for obvious reasons it is very difficult to estimate how much they do so.
I’m not aware of any systematic investigations. One thing to keep in mind is there’s a big distinction between say going to Mars and going to planets in another solar system. Going to a whole other system reduces more existential risks but requires a lot more investment.
It might make more sense to think of this in terms of specific risks and whether they would be avoided simply by having a backup population. Obvious examples in that category are asteroids and nanotech disasters. The first however is more easily dealt with by careful observation and moving the asteroids out of the way. The second is much harder to quantify but many people who actually study nanotech consider it to be unlikely.
Colonies do however also protect against the unknown unknowns. But for obvious reasons it is very difficult to estimate how much they do so.