The world is not enough
Religion & Liberty Online

The world is not enough

Not satisfied simply with privately-funded space flights, the X Prize Foundation is currently drafting rules for a lunar lander challenge. The foundation is looking for comments from the public on the current draft, and here are some of the details according to SPACE.com:

According to draft rules for the lunar lander contest, competitors will be challenged to build a vehicle capable of launching vertically, travel a distance of 328 to 656 feet (100 to 200 meters) horizontally, and then land at a designated site. A return trip would then occur between 5 minutes and 30 minutes later.

The X Prize Foundation was behind the successful Ansari X Prize competition in 2004, and when I wrote about the challenge then, I said that “every part of the created cosmos fills a specific purpose within God’s created order,” and that “the feasibility of popular space travel underscores the significance of our solar system as a responsibility and blessing for human stewardship.”

The cultural mandate and blessing says that humans are to “fill the earth and subdue it.” I hope and pray that we can do the same to the moon (and beyond) in a responsible and stewardly fashion. Indeed, in the process of learning about the rest of the cosmos, we may well learn how to take care of the earth better through technological and scientific advancement. If nothing else, perhaps we can make the moon a base for comet-busting lasers.

HT: Slashdot

Jordan J. Ballor

Jordan J. Ballor (Dr. theol., University of Zurich; Ph.D., Calvin Theological Seminary) is director of research at the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy, an initiative of the First Liberty Institute. He has previously held research positions at the Acton Institute and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and has authored multiple books, including a forthcoming introduction to the public theology of Abraham Kuyper. Working with Lexham Press, he served as a general editor for the 12 volume Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology series, and his research can be found in publications including Journal of Markets & Morality, Journal of Religion, Scottish Journal of Theology, Reformation & Renaissance Review, Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Faith & Economics, and Calvin Theological Journal. He is also associate director of the Junius Institute for Digital Reformation Research at Calvin Theological Seminary and the Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity & Politics at Calvin University.