Extra Terrestrial Intelligence

{Note: This post is #3 in a series of 12 where I review what Scientific American magazine has called the “12 Events That Will Change Everything”. See previous posts “Extra Dimensions”, “Polar Meltdown” and “False Dichotomy” for more information.}

The Event: Scientists will discover evidence of life (of some form) on another planet. The most likely discovery would be microscopic life (microbes, pond scum) on a planet that has water and some type of atmosphere. Finding “little green men” is not so likely. Science would be ecstatic to find fossilized remains of previous life forms on another planet, which is why they have been sending probes to Mars.

The Impact: The impact of finding life on another planet will really depend on what is discovered and how far away it is. Simply finding any life anywhere would mean that planet Earth is not unique, but it wouldn’t really change our lives. If we found a planet with simple lifeforms and characteristics similar to Earth (atmosphere, temperature, stability), it would be target destination for future space travel – assuming it was close enough to get to. If we found intelligent life similar to humans, then the impact could be good (like friendly Vulcans from Star Trek) or very bad (like the movie Independence Day).

The Science: The authors at Scientific American Magazine suggest that this event is relatively unlikely. There is much debate in the scientific community about the likelihood of life existing elsewhere in the universe. There is general agreement that the conditions for sustaining life (water, oxygen, correct temperature, limited radiation, atmosphere, etc) are quite rare, but the vastness of the universe with the billions and billions of planets often suggests to some people that there must be some planets out there similar to Earth. Since 1971, the “Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence” or SETI has been listening to the heavens for radio signals that would identify sources of intelligent life. So far, they’ve only found static. A meteorite discovered in Antarctica and thought to be from Mars has been examined and it appears to have traces of fossilized microscopic life forms, but there is much debate around this discovery. Some think it is just an unusual rock formation.

Jac’s Analysis: I tend to agree that it is highly unlikely that there are other planets in the universe similar to Earth that have the conditions necessary to sustain life. As a believer, I accept that God specifically designed planet Earth so it could sustain life, and it is only through His intervention that life was created. That being said, God is the Creator of the entire universe, and I don’t see why He couldn’t have created life elsewhere, if He wanted to.

Our Reaction? I watch a lot of science fiction movies and television shows, and a few (such as the recent re-make of the V series) highlight the reaction of believers to the discovery of aliens. But science fiction is probably the extent of all we will ever experience regarding life on other planets, so don’t lose sleep over this one. However, I don’t think that we can rule out that our Creator did not create life on other planets, so we should be very interested if future Mars explorers bring back evidence that life once existed on the red planet. Instead of viewing this as a threat to our belief in God, it should serve to strengthen our faith that the entire universe belongs to God.

Questions and comments?

1. Do you think it possible that God could have created life on other planets?
2. How would you react if science brought forth proof that life once existed on Mars?

Next week we look at the horrifying possibility of a nuclear war.

Jac