Last week talked about how technology could alter the human body, the human brain and human consciousness. For our last sermon in this series, I want to talk about something that you’ve been hearing a lot about lately—the goal of humans to colonize other planets, specifically, Mars. If you’ve been paying attention to the news, this is the goal not only of the United States federal government, but also of private space companies such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Admittedly, we are pretty far away from a manned mission to Mars, but many experts believe that we will be able to achieve this dream by 2040. Mars is a really interesting planet. Although today Mars is a vast terrain of cold dry desert, three billion years ago, Mars was similar to earth with a thick atmosphere and lots of flowing water. We can see the remnants of that world in the dried-up river channels and lakebeds that cover the planet’s surface. Scientists are not entirely sure what happened that caused Mars to go from a thriving planet with lots of water to its current state, but one theory suggests that the inner core of Mars cooled off. Now why does that matter? Well, the inner core of the Earth is still very hot and active. The Earth’s core is what’s responsible for creating the Earth’s magnetic field that deflects all of the harsh radiation from the sun and other stars in the universe. Without that magnetic field, all that solar radiation has the ability to slowly destroy the atmosphere of our planet and is likely what destroyed the atmosphere of Mars. The result is that atmosphere of Mars is really thin—100 times thinner than the atmosphere of Earth. What atmosphere Mars does have is 96 percent carbon dioxide, which means it’s not breathable for us. Another result of the atmosphere being so thin is that Mars is really cold with an average temperature of -81 degrees Fahrenheit. Although, it should be noted that during the summer time, the temperatures can get up to 70 degrees Fahrenheit at the equator. A Martian day, otherwise known as a Sol is 24 hours and 39 minutes, but the seasons and years are twice as long as they are on Earth. One fun aspect of Mars is that it has a lot less gravity than Earth. So much less that you could jump over your car instead of walk around it. With the right kind of apparatus, humans could attach wings to themselves and fly around Mars. So even though Mars is not perfect, it’s the only other planet in our solar system that has the potential to harbor complex lifeforms. The biggest problem we have is getting there. Mars is an average of 250 million miles away. Sometimes it’s closer, sometimes it’s farther away. The shortest distance between Earth and Mars happens once every two years. So if we launch on that specific day, it will take us 240 days or eight months to get there. That’s a really long time to be trapped in a very small space with 5 or 6 other people. For the sake of argument, let’s assume that the astronauts we send have the mental versatility to deal with the cramped conditions and long travel time. One of the biggest problems with going to Mars is the landing. Humans have sent more than 50 rockets to Mars over the last 60 years and only a third of those missions have been successful. The vast majority of those missions have either missed or crashed. But assuming we develop the technology to safely land on Mars, there are some major obstacles to us living on the surface. Similar to here on Earth, you will need food, water, shelter, clothing and most importantly, oxygen. Let’s begin with water. Water is far too heavy to carry with us to Mars and, as I said earlier, all the water that used to be on the planet is no longer on the surface, but that doesn’t mean the water is completely gone. The Martian soil contains up to 60 percent water and the various Mars orbiters have discovered huge reservoirs of underground water similar to those found on Earth. There’s also a lot of water frozen in glaciers at the poles. In fact, if you only melted the water ice at the Martian poles, most of the planet would be under 30 feet of water. So there’s plenty of water, it’s just a matter of getting access to it. But perhaps the best place to get water is from the Martian atmosphere. The atmosphere of Mars is often 100 percent humid and, if you’ve ever been in 100 percent humidity, you know how awful it can be. But what’s uncomfortable on Earth is a lifesaver on Mars. In 1998, the University of Washington created a low-tech dehumidifier that could extract from the air all the water that humans will ever need to survive on Mars. Now that we have water, next we need food. In the beginning, almost all of our food will come from Earth and will be dried. For the first couple of years, there will be shipments of food being sent from Earth every six months. But one of the first tasks of the astronauts who land on Mars will be to setup a hydroponic farm to grow vegetables. Their job will be to build a greenhouse where they can grow seeds that will eventually account for 20% of the Martian food supply. Now you might be thinking—how will they build a greenhouse and where will they live? Well, at first they will use inflatable, pressurized buildings, but those can only be utilized for so long because they have a limited capacity for preventing solar radiation and cosmic rays from giving astronauts radiation poisoning. The truth is that they need a structure that can withstand all that radiation. And it just so happens that NASA has figured out a solution to this problem. Interestingly, the soil on Mars is perfect for making bricks. NASA has come up with a method for making bricks that does not require a kiln. If you mix a polymer plastic into the bricks, then you can bake them in in a microwave oven. This enables you to create buildings with really thick walls that can block all of the radiation. The only problem with this building is we lack the necessary air to breath. NASA has figured this one out too. Since the Martian atmosphere is 96 percent CO2 and CO2 is basically 78 percent oxygen, you just need to suck the oxygen out of the CO2. Michael Hecht, a scientists at MIT, developed a machine called Moxie, which essentially acts as a reverse fuel cell. It sucks in the Martian atmosphere and pumps out oxygen. The last question is what will you wear? Earth’s atmosphere places 15 pounds of pressure on our bodies at all times. Because there’s almost no atmosphere on Mars, there’s hardly any atmospheric pressure. Thankfully, Dava Newman, another scientist at MIT, has created a space suit that provides artificial atmospheric pressure, blocks radiation and keeps us warm. So with the exception of building the actual rocket that will get us to Mars, we already have all the technology necessary to live there. The question is, once we get to Mars and setup our habitat, what’s the goal? Well, the plan is to terraform the entire planet, reengineering Mars to be more like Earth. I know that sounds kind of crazy, but the truth is we already have all the technology to make this happen. The first thing we have to do is warm Mars up a bit. In order to do this, we need to do the opposite of what we’ve been doing on this planet, which is pump carbon into the atmosphere. One of the best ways to make this happen is by melting the polar ice caps, which contains a lot of trapped C02. One possible solution is to erect a very large solar sail in the atmosphere and focus the reflected sunlight onto the poles, like a magnifying glass. It will only take about 20 years for the temperature on Mars to start to rise. As the atmosphere gets thicker, there’s more protection from radiation, which makes it safer for us to walk around outside on the surface. But the best part about warming the planet is that eventually there will be water flowing through those channels again, which makes growing crops possible. Eventually, the atmosphere will get thick enough that we will be able to take off those space suits indoors. Within 200 years, Mars will be made to feel a lot like British Columbia and within 1,000 years, the atmosphere will finally be breathable for humans so they can walk around outside without any protections. I know it might sound crazy, but my children’s children will likely have the option to move to Mars if they so choose. There will be houses, schools, hotels, restaurants, bars. Of all the technology I have discussed, this will be the most disruptive event in our lifetimes and also the most inspiring. This achievement will make us a spacefaring species. And if we are successful, that means humans will survive no matter what happens on Earth. We will never be the last of our kind. The question I pose to you is: how does this event impact the Christian faith? Some of you might be thinking, “Does it really matter? I don’t think it really changes anything?” Well, it has a bigger impact that you might suppose. Our scripture from Genesis is the famous scene when God makes a covenant with Abraham telling Abraham that his descendants will be exceedingly numerous. This is an important moment in the Bible because it is the first time that God chooses a specific group of people with whom to associate. In the first three chapters of Genesis, God creates human beings out of the clay of the earth. But in chapter 17, God is zeroing in on the Abraham and his decedents. This covenant between Abraham and God is the cornerstone of the Bible because everything else in the Bible flows out of that. For instance, Abraham will become the father of the Israelites, who will eventually become the Jewish people. The Jews trace their lineage back to that covenant. The Holy Land is claimed as belonging to the Jews because of this covenant. And Jesus’ messiahship is based on the fact that he is Jewish. Jesus traces his lineage back to Abraham. Indeed, Christians, who are not Jewish, have access to Abraham’s covenant by following and believing in Jesus. God sent Jesus to earth so that all humans might find salvation and be included in Abraham’s covenant. So the connection goes like this: God creates the earth. God creates humans. God makes a covenant with one human and his descendants. God sends Jesus to save all the humans on the earth. So what happens when we leave earth? Does the covenant still count? Because I want you to consider something: once humans leave earth and start living on Mars, they will no longer be humans as we know them now. Slowly, over time, they will evolve into a different species. Being on Mars will cause their genes to change and adapt to their new environment. Eventually, humans from Earth and humans from Mars will be a completely different branch of our evolutionary tree. Just as homo sapiens broke off of homo erectus, the Martian Humans will break off of from us. Now why does this matter? It matters because the message of the Bible was crafted around humans living on earth. It says in the Psalm: “O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” The promise of salvation to all humanity was intended for the decedents of Adam and Eve. These Martian humans will not be descendent from Adam and Eve, but rather from the first humans who have a baby on Mars. They will be the ones who begin this new line of humans. All of this raises an important question: do these new humans need Jesus in order to find salvation? We humans on earth did, but what about humans on Mars? What about their descendants who eventually leave Mars and start exploring other planets in distant solar systems? Do they need Jesus? You see the issue being raised by space travel is a far reaching question: Is Jesus just for us or is Jesus truly for every civilization on every planet throughout the galaxy? The Psalmist answers this question: “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” We are these small little creatures compared to the vastness of the universe, but if God created us and God loves us, then God also loves all creatures that exist beyond the earth. Therefore, this message that Jesus preaches about God being love and love being the fabric of the universe is something that isn’t just reserved for us. It is something that is universal to all creatures. This means whether you’re standing on Earth, Mars or a planet in an entirely different solar system, the message of God’s love still matters. And this is how I want to end this series. I really believe so strongly in the message that Jesus preaches. I believe in it so strongly that I’ve dedicated my life to preaching it, week in and week out. Indeed, although my faith in the institution of the church may waiver, my faith in Jesus’ message remains as strong as it’s ever been. Jesus’ message of love changes lives for the better and my sincere prayer is that his message will continue to be preached as we reach beyond the stars. Amen.