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This is remarkable in part because the spacecraft was designed to carry out a four-year mission to Saturn; it accomplished that, pumping out never-seen-before images of Jupiter and Saturn, but it has kept going. Although Voyager 1 carries equipment long out of date by today's standards -- 8-track tape recorders, computers with one-240,000th the memory of a low-end iPhone and a 23-watt transmitter, roughly the equivalent of a refrigerator light bulb -- Voyager 1 is now carrying out what Edward C. Stone, NASA's top Voyager expert, calls "a whole new mission."
Voyager 1 is communicating to Earth with a radio signal that is minuscule: one TWW team member calculated the received signal strength at approximately -245 dBm, which is about 1/1,000,000,000,000th the signal that a handheld GPS unit is using.
The probe is now 11.7 billion miles from Earth and moving at 38,000 miles per hour, but Stone expects it to continue to send dispatches until about 2025.
In 1990, after the Jupiter and Saturn shots, Voyager 1 stopped transmitting pictures, both to conserve energy and because it was passing through a province of space with little to see, but now that it's gone beyond our sun's empire, it is awake to its environment, sending data that has convinced scientists that they are seeing the plasma of interstellar space.
This is not the first time Voyager 1 has been reported to have "left the solar system," but scientists are more certain this time. One difficulty in making that determination is that there is no precise definition of "the solar system" and, thus, no precise boundary. The boundary of the Oort cloud, an immense, roughly spherical cloud of icy small bodies that are inferred to revolve around the sun at great distances, and which is about three light years away, is sometimes used as the solar system boundary. The nearest stars are Proxima Centauri, 4.2 light years away, and the α-Centauri system, just under 4.4 light years. All of this makes the solar system boundary (by this definition) stretch almost three-fourths of the way to the nearest star.
While it is not clear what science may yet glean from this "Little Spacecraft That Could," its discoveries expand our knowledge of the cosmos, and perhaps even increase the possibility of eventual interstellar space travel -- the stuff of science fiction today.
More on this story can be found at these links:
In a Breathtaking First, NASA's Voyager 1 Exits the Solar System. New York Times
Voyager 1 Is Officially Out There. Scientific American
Pale Blue Dot: Voyager 1 Signal From Interstellar Space Photographed. NBC News
The Big Questions
Although the following questions are mostly theoretical at this point, the continuing exploration of space means that we may need to consider matters like these eventually:
1. When we humans are in space, are we in a realm where God's rule over us is in any way different? Or, to ask it another way, how earthbound are God's laws?
2. How might the exploration of space expand our understanding of God? Does one discover God in contemplating the cosmos, or does one bring one's faith with one to such contemplation? Where should one expect to find or encounter God?
3. If we succeed in establishing colonies on other planets, do we have the right to assume we have dominion (in the Genesis 1:26 sense) over whatever species and resources we find there? Would "terraforming" (altering the environment of a planet to suit human habitation) be a matter of good stewardship of available resources, or would it be desecration? What are you using as the basis for your answer?
4. How might Christ's instruction to love our neighbors apply to intelligent alien beings from other realms in the universe?
5. If we find intelligent life forms in space, should we send Christian missionaries to them? In other words, should we assume that their races are also "fallen" and in need of a savior in the same way that humankind is? If other species also need redemption, might it be from something other than sin? What might that be?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth ... (For context, read 1:1--2:4a.)
When Genesis speaks of "the heavens," it is referring to much more than just the visible sky. It means the "universe," the "cosmos." The ordering of the heavens is essential to the Genesis creation account. In other cosmological stories, creation is accidental or beyond the control of the gods -- or the stars or fates trump the gods. But in the biblical view, God orders the universe.
Voyager 1 continues to help us make sense of the universe that is ordered and logical and obeys coherent laws. We are not governed by the stars, or fates.
We usually use the words "universe" and "cosmos" interchangeably, but by strict definition, cosmos implies something that universe does not. Cosmos means the universe but considered as an orderly, harmonious whole, as something quite distinct from chaos.
Questions: From the Christian perspective, which word -- universe or cosmos -- is more descriptive of the realm we explore when we launch space shuttles and other spacecraft? Why? What do the laws of the cosmos tell us about the Creator of the cosmos?
Job 38:31-33 (Common English Bible)
Can you bind Pleiades' chains or loosen the reins of Orion? Can you guide the stars at their proper times, lead the Bear with her cubs? Do you know heaven's laws, or can you impose its rule on earth? (For context, 38:1-3, 31-33.)
This is part of God's response to Job's demand for a hearing regarding his righteousness. God tells Job to pull himself together and consider the larger picture. When Job does that, he sees that God has ordered the universe, and it isn't always about us, it isn't always about Job, it isn't always about me.
Although we are not sure what specific constellations or stars are translated here as "Pleiades," "Orion" and "the Bear" (different translations translate the underlying Hebrew words differently), Job knows, and God demands to know if Job can corral them or put them in order. Obviously he cannot, but the implication is that God can -- and does. Thus, the Bible views God as Lord of the whole cosmos.
Questions: How does viewing the night sky make you feel about your relationship with the Creator? Why? Did you feel the same way when the meteor exploded over Russia?
Psalm 89:6
For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? (For context, read 89:5-14.)
In talking about the skies here, the psalmist is reflecting the theology of his day, where the people of Israel still believed in the existence of many gods, but they believed that the Lord God was superior to any of them. Thus, the verse above is a statement of confidence that no matter what other powers exist, God is supreme. Verse 11 of this psalm reads, "The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it -- you have founded them."
Question: If we find alien races that believe in other gods, what should we say to them about our God? How much should we be prepared to listen? Do you listen to atheists, people of other faiths or even simply those of other denominations?
Psalm 139:8-10
If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. (For context, read 139:1-18.)
Questions: What does Psalm 139 suggest about space exploration? Explain your answer. What are some God-pleasing reasons for space exploration?
C.S. Lewis once said he thought of the distances of space (which Voyager has barely scratched) as part of God's quarantine zone, in order to protect the universe from our fallen nature. In Lewis' Space Trilogy, the philologist Ransom encounters unfallen races on Mars, and is present on Venus when that planet's Eve faces the same temptation as in Genesis 3. What would a planet be like where there was no need of redemption because that people (whatever they might look like) had never fallen? Is it possible to achieve maturity as an individual or a group without some sort of sin? Does one need God if one does not need redemption?
Acts 17:24-25
The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. (For context, read 17:16-31.)
This passage concerns the apostle Paul's visit to Athens, one of the most cosmopolitan centers of his day. The intellectuals of that city loved to debate, and often gathered at the city forum, called the Areopagus, to do so. Paul, never one to miss an opportunity to promote Christianity, seized the moment there to present his arguments in favor of Christ. The citizens of that city worshiped many gods, but didn't know much about the God of the Jews. They had constructed many altars to these various gods, but among them, Paul noticed one with an inscription reading "To an unknown god."
In this altar, Paul recognized their religious impulse and said, in effect, "You have the yearning to worship, to be religious, but you don't know toward whom to direct your worship." He proceeded to tell them about the God of heaven and earth, who made the world and everything -- and everyone -- in it. He even quoted one of their own poets: "In him we live and move and have our being" (v. 28). In other words, Paul asserted that not only his own life, but also the lives of his hearers, were in God's hands.
In asserting "In him we live and move and have our being," Paul reminds us of what the pagan poets knew in their hearts -- that our very life is based in God. We're part of that wonderful and orderly universe, made by God. We have a place.
Questions: What does it mean to you that "In him we live and move and have our being"? What does this say about those who disbelieve, or who have startlingly different beliefs than you? What does this say about the plant and animal species with whom we share this planet, and how does this affect the way we share the planet with them? In what sense do the bodies in the cosmos "live and move and have their being" in God?
For Further Discussion
1. C.S. Lewis, who penned both defenses of Christianity and science-fiction stories, once wrote, "Our loyalty is due not to our species but to God. Those who are, or can become, [God's] sons, are our real brothers even if they have shells or tusks. It is spiritual, not biological, kinship that counts." What is your reaction to Lewis' statement?
2. Comment on this: The journey of Voyager 1 has been a gold mine, serving far beyond its intended lifespan. In our throwaway culture, here was something worth saving."
3. Voyager 1 is now 11.7 billion miles from Earth and moving at 38,000 miles per hour. The distance corresponds to over two million round-trips between San Diego and Boston. Yet Voyager would have to travel over 2100 times as far to reach the nearest star -- and the distance to that star is 25 thousand times less than the diameter of our galaxy. How hard is it to wrap one's mind around such things? How might that relate to God's statement through Isaiah: "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts, [says the LORD]" (Isaiah 55:9)?
4. Comment on this: After his spaceflight in 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov, the pilot of Vostok 2, famously said that he had looked for God and didn't see him. In post-Soviet Russia, all cosmonauts and international astronauts who fly on the Soyuz spacecraft are now required, regardless of faith, to stop for a blessing from a Russian Orthodox priest before blastoff.
5. Respond to the poem "Europa's Ice and Io," by TWW team member Frank Ramirez:
Gaunt with age, his features drawn and haggard,
At heaven's gate proud Zeus (who conquered time),
Still languishing from lack of worship, staggered
In his infirmity, admits no crime.
Where once the hills were wont to rock with thunder
When he would deign to step from his domain
Zeus ponders. Who can penetrate the blunder
While all about him falls a quiet rain?
The king is dead. ... not dead? Not while, in passing,
A Voyager should catch a glimpse of gold
And send back from the stars his final blessing
Preserved in fragile pictures in its hold.
Europa's ice and Io's fiery breath
With Jupiter fight entropy and death.
--From his book Sonnetized for Your Protection
6. Where does the cosmos end? Consider this thought experiment from the first-century Latin poet Lucretius: He said that if there is a boundary to the universe, we should imagine what would happen if we tossed a spear at it. Lucretius said that there were two possibilities: 1) The spear would strike the edge of the universe as a spear would strike a wall and bounce back, or 2) the spear would go through the boundary of the universe and emerge into some kind of "other side." If the spear bounced back, then we could conclude that the universe is bounded by a wall, which implies that whatever is beyond the wall is beyond what we have been calling the universe. Therefore, the boundary of the universe is bounded by another "space." On the other hand, if the spear went through the boundary of the universe, then we could assume that this boundary is illusory and that as far as we can tell, the universe is infinite. Either way, it would prove that there was something beyond what we call the universe. Therefore, "space" could be thought of as infinite.
Note for the scientifically inclined: Lucretius' thought experiment assumes the familiar Euclidean geometry, and also holds for several other geometries, but it does fall apart under other assumptions. Current cosmology leans toward an infinite universe, but this is by no means a consensus opinion.
Responding to the News
You might consider having a conversation along these lines with the children in your life:
TWW team member Heidi Mann tells of talking with her children about the roles of science and faith, and how they fit together. "I led our 14- and 8-year-old in a discussion about this at dinner last night because the 8-yr-old was telling how they had talked at school about how the solar system was created: He described, in simplified terms, the Big Bang Theory. So I asked, "So how does that fit with what the Bible says?" Our 14-year-old stated firmly that the two don't fit together. To which I challenged them to think about whether the Bible tells how Creation happened (in scientific terms). 'No,' they said. 'What does it tell?' I asked. My 8-year-old piped up, 'That God did it!' So I led them to see (I hope!) that scientific learnings and faith can fit together, and not to let people tell them it has to be one or the other."
Closing Prayer
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