Persevering in the Search for Life
Psalm 8:3-4
“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?”
In a previous Creation Moment, we talked about the Perseverance Mars 2020 mission, which included a helicopter named Ingenuity.
Another technology demonstration taken with Perseverance is an instrument for collecting oxygen. The atmosphere on Mars is very thin; its surface pressure is only 1% of Earth’s atmosphere. Of this tenuous Martian atmosphere, 95.3% is carbon dioxide, which is only a trace gas on Earth. There is 2.6% nitrogen and 1.9% argon, with trace amounts of water vapor, oxygen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen and noble gases. Despite the rarity of oxygen, NASA engineers believe that their equipment can extract oxygen in sufficient quantities to make human exploration of Mars possible.
Which brings us to the subject of life. Previous missions – and indeed photographs – have provided evidence that there was once water on Mars. Even Perseverance’s landing site – the Jezero Crater – appears surrounded by dried water channels. But water and atmospheric carbon dioxide do not make life. Says one NASA scientist, “If we found a microbe that arose on the next planet over, if lightning struck twice in this one corner of the solar system, it would suggest that our whole universe could have life on lots and lots of planets and it’s not just us alone in the dark night.” But his “lightning” did not strike once. Chemicals in lifeforms are not produced by mixtures or even simple reactions. They contain codes and information which could only have been put there by the Creator God of the Bible.
Prayer: Thank You for designing this planet, on which You have placed us, Lord. Thank You for Your creative power that demonstrates Your glory and greatness. Amen.
Author: Paul F. Taylor
Ref: Perseverance mission page, < https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/ >, accessed 7/30/2020.
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