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SPECTACULAR
panoramic picture of
the Martian landscape shows rock–
strewn surface and sand dunes re–
markably similar to many desert
scenes on earth. Photo
was
taken
two hours after sunrise and covers
an are of 1
ooo
/ooking northeast at
left and southeast at right. Large
boulder at left
is
nearly 1O feet long
and
is
about 25 feet from the Viking
space craft. The sharp dune crests
indicate recent wind storms capable
of moving sand. An arm of the Viking
lander's miniature weather station
cuts through the photograph's cen–
ter. Space explorations, such as the
Viking mission to Mars, may dramati–
cally alter our perception of the earth
and of man's role in the universe.
crushing gravitationa l pulls, bear a
closer resemblance to dead stars
than earth. Their icy moons, with
few exceptions, are scarcely more
inviting.
Even the earth's moon may play a
little reali zed but vital role in mak–
ing the earth suitable for sustaining
life. The moon, of course, is respon–
sible for the tides, but it may also
account for the planet's relative
climatic stability and, possibly, for
its strong magnetic field.
Only lhe earth of the inner plan–
ets has such a massive satellite. On
Mars, large oscillations in the tilt of
the planet's axis are thought by
sorne scientists to lead to gross
changes in the Ma rtian climate. On
the o ther hand , the earth's tilt
changes very little, at present, be–
cause tbe presence of the moon acts
as a sophisticated stabilizing force.
The
PLAIN TRUTH October 1976
In fact. scientists say that without
the moon, the earth's tilt would os–
cillate even more than that of Mars,
leading to far greater climatic insta–
bility than we presently experience
and perhaps endangering life itself.
Thus, the earth, particularly in its
suitability as a habitat for life as we
know it, appears to be unique in the
solar system.
The Search for Life
Yet so strong is the t radition of
' 'life on Mars" that man still feels
compelled to search for life on the
red planet, be it even the tin iest mi–
croorganism.
Jndeed, the search for life is the
keynote of the Viking mission. Sci–
entists - particularly biologists -
feeJ that the discovery of life on an–
other planet would be the crowning
event of the twentie th century. This
discovery would have philosophical
as well as scientific impact. To
many, it would imply that life is
spread throughout the solar system.
Carl Sagan, Cornell astronomer,
believes such a discovery would
"combat tbe 'earth chauvinism' that
permeates so many of our philos–
ophies."
"Man has now placed bis feet in
the cosmic ocean," muses Sagan,
"and it just may result in a de–
provincialization of some of our
cherished concepts."
Philosopher James Christian of
Santa Ana CoUege in California
maintains that " the ultimate impli–
cation [of finding life] is that we will
at last have a mirror by which we
NASA
can look at ourselves as human
beings." He speculates lhat such a
discovery would spell the end of
earth-centered religious beliefs.
The Bible Disproved?
But would the discovery of life on
Mars - or anywhere else beyond
the earth - really topple religions
and philosophies. as many believe?
Would the Bible be disproved if life
were found in other parts of the uní–
verse? To answer such questions, we
need to see just what the Bible says
about lhe creation of tbe universe
and life in outer space.
The book of Genesis, written over
three thousand years ago, states tha t
"in the beginn ing, God crea ted the
heavens and the earth."
Today modern science attests that
the universe did, in fact. have a defi–
nite beginning. Says astronomer
John O'Keefe: "One result of the
space research is the realization that
the universe seems to have been cre–
ated rather suddenly about ten bil–
lion years ago. This is a very
awkward point for the apostles of
dialectical materialism, the philoso–
phy that goes with Communism.
They have always said that the uní–
verse must be infinite and eterna!;
they have always fought against the
idea that it was created at sorne par–
ticular time."
So twentieth-century science, at
least in lhis respect, suppor ts scrip–
ture. There was a definite begin–
ning; the universe has not always
existed. (For further information on
this subj ect, write for th e free
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