| by John Jewell (London, England) |
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| THAT’S ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN! ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND! are the words uttered by Neil Armstrong as his left foot touched the surface of the Moon on 21st July 1969, as he stepped down from the Eagle landing craft which he had piloted and guided from the mother ship Columbia accompanied by Ed (Buzz) Aldrin, one of the two other crew members who had brought Columbia along with Eagle from their base at Houston in Texas. A further 10 astronauts in six more missions have travelled to the moon with the final, manned lunar landing with Apollo 17 in December 1972 Since then, 43 years have passed, and now, just a few days ago, on 25th August, as has been widely reported, Neil Armstrong himself died, aged 82. Before we can ask the question as to what was achieved, we have also to consider another and much more recent excursion into space. This took place during the early part of August on the 6th. It was not a further lunar endeavor but instead had the planet Mars in the sights of NASA, the American space agency. And Instead of an evocative name such as ‘Eagle” it bore the rather more appropriate title of “Curiosity”. It landed safely on Mars after an 8-month trip and for the next two years will rove under remote guidance by NASA on its 6 wheels throughout a 96 mile wide crater. It is intended that it will explore a 3.4-mile-high mountain at the center of the crater for signs of any microbe life, and in fact whether or not Mars could have been habitable for microbes. Interesting however were the early photographs of the rover’s tracks in the Martian dust as it executed some early maneuvers as the ground controllers were checking its systems. The Martian surface, at least in the region of Curiosity’s landing, showed itself to be mainly heavy dust, liberally peppered with pebbles of all kinds and sizes. In fact, not much different to what we now know about the surface of the Moon, although the landing site selected in the Sea of Tranquility and known as Tranquility Base was littered with large rocks! The BBC’s weekly listing of television programs, “Radio Times”, had this to say about a program televised on Monday, 27th August with the title “How Big is the Universe” – that it is infinitely large and getting bigger all the time … it would appear that the huge amount of space, empty space, of which it is composed is increasing all the time! The program followed the work of cosmologists who are attempting to create a map of everything in existence. Their latest research has revealed some unexpected results, suggesting the universe is merely the starting point for something much bigger.” We find it hard, if not impossible, to accept that the scientists at NASA realized exactly what it was they were saying or expressing! But the reality is that the universe may indeed be, as they thought, the starting point for something much, much bigger. Something which is way beyond the imagination of mankind today. Why exactly did Mankind want to go to the Moon in the first place? What he could see using powerful telescopes did not exactly look as though it was a hospitable place! What is more not only was there no sign of life, intelligent or otherwise, but it did not look as though it was capable of supporting life as we know it here on earth! In fact, there appeared to be no life of any kind whatsoever, whether strange bugs, odd germs or lunar versions of plant growth. Six further missions to the Moon involving 10 more highly trained astronauts and the use of ever more powerful telescopes confirmed what had already been observed from Earth and experienced from the previous missions to the Moon. Now we have the missions to the planet Mars! As with the missions to the Moon they are technically brilliant, but tell us very little, if anything, that we didn’t know from observation here on Earth. The view has been expressed that it is possible that bacteria may well be found on Mars. In our view, given what we know about the observable bodies in the rest of the Universe this is not likely. The pattern was set by the Moon! The Moon is simply representative of the rest of the Universe with the exception of the blazing radioactive furnaces of the stars and various suns. Everywhere we, Mankind, look, we see the same thing! So why did America launch those missions to the Moon and to Mars? Partly because they could be carried out and some advantage may have been found here on Earth. Certainly, political advantage was very much in the thinking, mainly by demonstrating the power of the United States, that it was a nation that was not to be argued with! For this same reason both China and India are now planning missions to both the Moon and to Mars. They neither of them need to mount such expeditions. It would show greater thought and concern for their citizens if greater care was taken of their people. A further factor is the hope that traces or evidence of intelligent life might be found and thereby, many feel, would go some way to proving the theory of evolution and disprove the existence and reality of a creator. In fact, everything so far discovered serves only to reinforce the belief of a supreme intelligence, God. Consider the facts! The planet on which we all live is unique in the solar system and in fact is unique in the entirety of the visible or known universe. Even with all the equipment we have we still have found no other planet like earth in any way whatsoever. Earth is perfectly designed and equipped for its purpose which is the development and nurture of human beings. The size of it and the consequent force of gravity is just right for the human frame! Our world has been carefully and thoughtfully equipped with all the supplies needed. What is more those supplies perfectly match our physical needs. Supplies of fresh water of which the human body has constant need are available. You may say that it is not as available as it should be! That it is not everywhere is mainly due to our mismanagement of those supplies. The human body needs a constant supply of vitamins and minerals. Foods of all kinds supplying these are made available around the world and in great variety. Advice has been given to us all as to what foods are suitable for the maintenance of health. It is human irresponsibility should we not follow through on these things and we become sick. It was not the intention of the Creator that we should suffer ill health, the principle is stated in 3rd John in the New Testament of your bible. It shows God’s mind and thinking. It says “I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers. For that reason, one section of the bible is devoted to clearly spelling out what foods are fit for the human frame and which are not. As one old saying goes “we are what we eat!” Another biblical text encourages mankind to exercise. It is in the first epistle to Timothy in chapter 4 and says “ … bodily exercise profits for a little while: but godliness is profitable to all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” The focus of the present Moon and Mars landings has been on mankind’s achievements which should not, of course, be minimized! But why are the stars where they are and for what reason! I am reminded of the poem entitled “Sea-Fever” by John Maisefield. A couple of lines read “… All I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.” For centuries Man has used the stars and the position they are placed in the sky at night to accurately and safely travel across the seas and around the world. In the first chapter of Genesis and in verse 16 we read how God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.” It continues: “… And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, “ In some parts of Britain, and especially in the south west of England the Moon was often referred to as “the parish lantern” it may still be. But isn’t it extraordinary how the moon is in exactly the right orbit to supply light overnight around the planet and to indicate various points in the calendar month! The moon is virtually a very large mirror, reflecting the sun’s light to give a softer light at night! Isn’t it extraordinary how the stars are in identifiable patterns so that people around the world could navigate at night and especially so for ships over the centuries! When you were a youngster did you ever have one of those cheap compasses that toyshops sell and which provided a lot of interest and source of questions to us as young people. Later on, when we had a small sailing cruiser it was fitted with a compass so we could find our way around the river estuaries. However, it relied on the magnetic north and a needle that would always point to north. A question should now occur to you! Does Mars or any of the other planets in the solar system have magnetic poles! The unsatisfactory answer is that spacecraft orbiting Mars have found only weak magnetic fields present in various regions of the Red Planet. Further studies have suggested that very large asteroids hitting Mars may have wiped out any planetary magnetic field. One study indicated that when Mars was just 500 million years old, its global magnetic field disappeared. Without such a shield the study said, the atmosphere would be stripped away, vaporizing any water and killing any life. In short, in spite of Man’s considerable efforts to find life elsewhere, Planet Earth is unique! Only on Earth can you walk around and live life without a space suit! Only on Earth can you grow fruit and vegetables and rear chickens on open ground! Only on this planet that is our home are there defensive shields protecting us from most of the asteroids that would otherwise strike us and destroy us. Only on our planet can Man come to know God, to learn the purpose for life on Earth and to then fulfil that purpose. |
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