Current Events & Trends: Seeking human survival in outer space

Who hasn’t looked up into the night sky and wondered what it would be like to travel through the far reaches of the universe? Outer space is fascinating. There is so much of it, and we, on our little planet, are just a speck. Trekking through the cosmos makes for great science fiction movies, TV shows and books. And the reality of human space exploration, tiny leaps by comparison, is nonetheless awe-inspiring.

For a while now, many have been concerned with threats to human survival on earth and look up to the heavens for an answer—but not from the One who can actually help, the very Maker of it all. Instead, some imagine super-intelligent aliens who will guide us to solve our problems. Those in the SETI program (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) keep probing for such life out there.

Others look to other planets for a possible new home. Right now U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly is on the International Space Station for a year to research the effects of living in space long-term on the body. His twin brother remains on the ground, being monitored simultaneously as a control measurement. As a recent New Yorker article explains, “it’s ‘a stepping stone’ to ‘Mars and beyond’”—that is, initially a manned Mars mission and eventually colonization of Mars and other planets (Elizabeth Kolbert, “Project Exodus: What’s Behind the Dream of Colonizing Mars?” June 1, 2015).

Elon Musk, founder of the private aerospace company SpaceX, which has sent supplies to the station by rocket, is working on a plan for a “Mars Colonial Transporter,” seeing this pursuit as vital. “‘Are we on a path to becoming a multiplanet species or not?’ he has asked. ‘If we’re not, well, that’s not a very bright future. We’ll simply be hanging out on Earth until some eventual calamity claims us’” (ibid.).

Of course, what’s to guarantee human survival elsewhere?

The Creator God precisely designed us and the earth for us to be able to live here. And He gave human beings the job of tending this precious environment. Our mission is not to escape our planet. On the other hand, the starry expanse overhead was meant for us. Today it is something to wonder at, considering our place in creation. Israel’s King David wrote, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” (Psalm 8:3-4).

But in the future, as Scripture also reveals, the entire vast universe is to be part of our inheritance—with the Kingdom of God centered here on the earth. To learn more about your awesome future, be sure to send for or download our free study aid What Is Your Destiny? (Source: The New Yorker).