Getting out of This World

If you listen to the news on television and the radio or read the newspapers, you’ll agree that people are worried about the state of our planet. The Earth doesn’t seem to be able to hold up in its present condition.  Scientists are sounding the alarm, holding conferences and summits to discuss the problem and get the word out,  mostly to those they think are causing the problem. The dire warnings hinge on climate change. The United Nations and world leaders are collaborating on strategies  to  help preserve the planet and life on it.

Well, one billionaire who foresees  a terrifying scenario for humanity on Planet  Earth  wants to do something for the preservation of the race when things get out of hand. He has devised a clever way  to  escape the impending doom by  developing and funding a venture called SpaceX. Paul Rincon of the BBC News gives us a peek into this daring plan.  He writes,  “Elon Musk is developing a vehicle that could be a game-changer for space travel.  Starship, as it is known, will be a fully reusable  transport system capable of carrying up to 100 people to the Red Planet.” So there you have it. Get off this ill-fated planet and get onto Mars. The  reason for the new location? To preserve civilization.  If Earth were to experience a catastrophe, such as a large asteroid attack, there would be somewhere to run to, at least that is Mr. Musk’s plan, according to  Paul Rincon.

Elon  Musk’s SpaceX venture is intended to develop what we might call  space-farers. They will be like the seafarers of old, our twenty-first century  Ferdinand Magellan, Vasco da Gama, even Christopher Columbus.  Our modern explorers will be America’s  new Lewis and Clark up above instead of out West!  It’s a daring prospect. Some see this kind of exploration  as humans’  capacity to push the boundaries as far as their abilities will take them.  As poet Robert Browning wrote,  “Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”   You have to buck the limitation, the poet is saying. Well, Elon Musk is certainly bucking it. It doesn’t matter that the grand launch of Starship has had delays, had to be scrubbed, and even exploded after being briefly in the air. The quest will continue.

But at the risk of sounding like a Luddite, someone who is against all forms of progress,  I have a few questions about the proposal for  humans to colonize  Mars. What will those initial intrepid explorers be like?  Will they be any different from our faulty, defective human beings?  What will they be  taking with them to Mars?  Along with their  construction tools, will they take guns with them? Knowing certain  earthlings’  penchant for their weapons–for self-defense, of course–I’m sure these first families will take them just in case things get messy when the Martians refuse to yield their territory.

Then, too, they are preparing Starship, but are they preparing the people? The spaceship has flaws, and so do the people –all 100 of those who will be going on the flight. Will they be different from their earth-bound selves? Will they be free from greed, lying, jealousy,  covetousness, self-centeredness?  I hope they’ll take peace and contentment with them, but one can never tell. Remember that  the Israelites who exited Egypt on their way to the Promised Land were a group of grumblers and complainers, thus making the journey arduous for their leader.

Consider the  direction of this planned escape.  A spaceship carrying humans seeking their own destiny will be going up, a somewhat  upside-down mission. For  the Creator of the  universe has other  plans,  not merely for 100 people in a spaceship but a grand venture open to all humankind on His return to Earth.  He says,  “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14;3 NKJV).  We would do well to wait in earnest preparation and joyful anticipation for that  Promise to be fulfilled.

Blessings,

Judith

“Let’s face it,  space is a risky business. I always considered 
every  launch  a barely controlled explosion.”
Aaron Cohen,  NASA Administrator