Curiosity for Life on Mars

Isaiah 45:18
“For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.”

Like many people of my generation, I was fascinated by the Apollo Moon landings from 1969 through 1972. As a small boy, I keenly watched all the special programs that I could on BBC TV. I clearly remember one of the BBC experts, signing off the Apollo 17 broadcast, by telling us that NASA would certainly have people on Mars before 1990. I waited eagerly, but it never happened.

Perhaps the development of the Mars Rovers has helped somewhat. I love the photographs from the surface of Mars. And I love the idea of discovery, purely for the sake of discovery. I don’t think there needs to be any political justification for finding out as much as we can about the Red Planet.

Of course, that position is slightly naïve. There is no question that NASA is not carrying out voyages of discovery for the sake of pure discovery. There is an agenda. And that agenda is to emulate David Bowie, by finding life on Mars.

One rover, called Curiosity, has recently reported pictures of sedimentary rocks, with halos of silica. One possible, and likely, mechanism for the production of these halos is the action of water. It is interesting to think that water may have shaped large parts of the surface of Mars. However, matters being what they are, the inference is being made, as it has been made so many times before, that the existence of water on Mars is possible evidence for life. This is not the case. Life requires water, of that there is no doubt. But water does not imply life. It is the Earth that God has caused to be inhabited.

We praise You, our Heavenly Father, that You have made everything well, and have made this planet a suitable home for us, in Your purposes. We pray for Godly discoveries and discoverers, who will bring honor and glory to Your Name. Amen.

Author: Paul F. Taylor

Ref: Los Alamos National Laboratory. “‘Halos’ discovered on Mars widen time frame for potential life.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 30 May 2017. , accessed 05/30/2017. Image: NASA, Public Domain.