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July 21, 2009

Of God and Galaxies

Now that the Cold War is over and we have an economic crisis on our hands, is space exploration still justified?

Elrena Evans

600px-Aldrin_Apollo_11.jpg

Forty years ago Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to set foot on the moon, with an estimated 500 million people watching them via live broadcast below on planet Earth. I was not among those watching - I hadn't been born yet - and there hasn't been a single man-on-the-moon live broadcast in my lifetime. Eugene Cernan was the last man to visit the moon, in 1972.

Aldrin, Cernan, and five other astronauts met in Washington, D.C. yesterday to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the moon walk. During a press conference they were at times critical of the state of our nation's space program, urging future generations to surpass their accomplishments, but they also acknowledged the significant expense involved in space exploration. In a discussion on the merits of travel to Mars, David Scott, commander of the Apollo 15 mission, said, "We have to find a reason to go to Mars that will continue the funding."

Is pure exploration reason enough? I look up at the moon at night and it seems almost impossible to me that people have walked its far-off surface. (Of course, there are those who still say it never happened, that the whole moon landing was staged, a hoax.) I get chills listening to Armstrong's recorded voice, some 238,855 miles away, actually experiencing what countless generations had only dreamed about. I can't imagine looking at our planet from the vantage point of space.

But as for reasons to explore? I don't know. My high school biology teacher used to say that the more we know about our world, whether we're sending rockets into space or parsing the atom, the more we know about our Creator. And if "the heavens declare the glory of God," how much more so the galaxies, stars, and the "vast expanse of interstellar space," as it says in the Book of Common Prayer? I love seeing, and learning about, these traces of glorious fingerprints all over our world.

And I'd like to see a woman on the moon, someday, too.

The New York Times's Freakonomics blog has an excellent discussion on the costs and merits of space exploration, and I'd highly recommend reading it. NASA's budget last year was $17.3 billion, more money than I know how to understand in any sort of meaningful way, yet still just a drop in the bucket compared with the budget of the U.S. Department of Education.

What do you think? Should we allocate resources for the exploration of space, the final frontier? Continue to fund our space program, to infinity and beyond?

As for me, I'm going to go out and look at the moon.

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Posted by Katelyn Beaty on July 21, 2009 8:45 AM

Comments

I think that part of who we are as created in God's image involves exploring and creating. God wants us to get to know this universe he created. We learn more about him and we also learn more about ourselves I think. We are meant to be striving, growing, seeking in all aspects of our lives, not just our walk with God. Just as humans first explored our planet and still continue to do so, so I think we should explore our universe.

Posted By: Anna | July 21, 2009 9:50 AM

Going back to the moon or to Mars or even the space station isn't just about "pure exploration" It drives me crazy that the general public thinks that is the only thing NASA has given us over the years. NASA puts millions of dollars back into the economy with jobs. NASA has made plastic a common household item, they gave us the MRI and cat scan's. Those are just the things off the top of my head but the list is much longer. Money spent on research is never wasted. We can't live stop expanding our knowledge and become stagnate just because money is tight.

Posted By: Becky | July 21, 2009 12:22 PM

The Bible tells us to "go out and preach the gospel to all nations," to "Love God," and to "Love others." Last time I checked, there were no "nations" or "others" to preach to on the moon, or any other planet for that matter. My opinion, from a strictly layman's point of view, is that we should focus on building up the people of God's kingdom, which are all right here on our sweet green earth.

However, my sheer curiosity would love to travel to outer space one day, therefore, I'd pay a few extra taxes simply to be able to allow myself (or someone else) to someday experience firsthand this great universe He's given us.

Posted By: Renee | July 21, 2009 2:23 PM

How is it possible to justify wasting money on intractable problems on earth when there is a universe waiting to be explored? The idea that we should give up the great human adventure because some unfortunates are uncomfortable is madness.

Posted By: Chuck | July 23, 2009 12:16 PM

I agree with this. How amazing that anyone ever even thought to try to make it there, but I guess once planes got in the air the possibility of going further came to be very real, maybe. I would love to see what home looks like from the moon. To see it from the outside I imagine must give one a new appreciation for all it holds and for God. That's odd and almost too big to think about, but I would like to see outer space. It would probably terrify me at the same time it leaves me in further awe of God. Water, land, and everything else held in place on a globe--wow. Gravity...right. None of it should be. Yet it is. And why globe shaped planets, moons and suns. Why not flat objects--read the scientific answer and I don't buy it. Why the order of the planets--the alignment. I already can guess the scientific answer to that one, random. Just fell in that way. Well, I certainly believe in and have faith in God and Jesus so this truly facinates me.

Posted By: Angel | July 26, 2009 11:09 PM

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