Why is getting into Space so important?

My wife, a devout Catholic, asked me this question. I'm not entirely sure if my answer was satisfactory in her opinion.

First of all, I want to assert that I do believe in God's promises, but I'm not one who totally spiritualizes them. I know that God does much, if not the vast majority, of his work through natural means, and often by our own efforts. Which is not to say that miracles don't happen, but that they are special when they do. And I instinctively take strong issue with the too literal anti-scientific interpretations of holy scripture, as an illegitimate use of faith to oppress the free use of reason.

That is why we are each given a part to play in his plans for his Kingdom here on earth. And yes, it is very important that we remember and understand that Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is at hand, among us, spread upon the earth, if we would only see it. The Kingdom is in our hearts, and it is up to us to manifest it in the ways that we treat one another in our daily lives.

We can bring an end to the oppression and injustice, and the poverty and infirmity, and the spiritual blindness that plague our world, if we cling to God steadfastly and depend on his grace and guidance. It is not something that any one of us can do, but it requires a shared vision of how we wish to glorify Him, in radical obedience to his plan. And when we accept that we are all responsible for this, we can also see that it is for us to build our part of the Kingdom of Heaven as well. The Kingdom flows from within us, as we offer ourselves in humble obedience to his will.

But I skipped over that part when I tried to answer my wife's question. Instead, I said, for thousands of years we have thought of Heaven as being somewhere above the vaults of the sky. Only recently have we tried to change that, when we learned that the night sky is full of stars and planets and awesome depths that we can barely understand. The Heavens have always been up, literally, far above us, beyond our grasp, and all we could do was to pray that God would not forget us.

But, SURPRISE !! That has changed, and there is something new under the Sun. King Solomon would have been astonished speechless to hear that a man has been to the Moon, walked on its surface, and then returned ... and it wasn't a dream, or even a heavenly vision! And the great commission that Jesus gave his apostles has now been accomplished as well. The whole world has been reached with the Gospel, into every nook and cranny, by radio, available to every soul to listen if they want to hear it. We cannot force them to listen, it is up to God's grace to prompt them to listen in curiosity.

Our technology has marked us out as a mature species. We are coming of age in our galaxy, with radio and rockets, and the science to understand our place in the Cosmos. But we must remember to remain humble in spirit before God, and to deal gently with our brothers and sisters who share the Earth with us. It will not be long before we learn how to build places on the other worlds in our solar system, and in empty space itself, where we can live apart from the Earth. But without the Kingdom in our hearts, the climb into space could be worse than meaningless.

There are vast resources out there that we can use to build those new settlements, and also to finance the reorganization of food and resource distribution on the Earth that will finally end the systemic poverty that has always plagued us. And once we see that the majority of our resource needs can be met in space, we can stop the crude and rapacious mining and ruining of our planet, and focus on recycling and cleaning up the messes we have already made.

We have been worried that the asteroids could fall and destroy us, but they are like a vast savings account that we can draw on, once we can reach them. And the orbital infrastructure of making the "rapture," lifting many people into space, affordable will make resource distribution equitable to all regions of the world. Scientists are working on the materials to build a cable car to replicate Jacob's vision of a ladder to Heaven, and the same materials can build a stationary ring in orbit, to give us a toe-hold for all of the commuters, and a depot for global and space shipping.

Jesus said that He was going to Heaven to be with the Father, so that he could prepare a place for us, and there would be many mansions awaiting us when we arrived. He has done that, and a place in our hearts has been prepared, and is nearly ready. We have the beginnings of plans to build the first settlements on the Moon, where we can prospect for asteroid impacts, and build factories for the modules we will use to build giant space stations and colonies for those who will work in space.

We need only make peace among our nations, so that we can finally hammer our swords into ploughshares. That work has already begun. Our nuclear weapons are being dismantled, and we are using that technology to build generators for the energy we need. And even better ways to make energy can be devised in space. But first, we need to find a fair way to end the conflicts here on Earth, so that we do not carry them up above with us. Conflicts in space would be incredibly devastating, involving whole populations. An attack on a space habitat would make the Holocaust look like Custer's massacre of a Cheyenne village. So a just peace is a necessary condition for safety and security in space.

But you can now see, perhaps, why I think the efforts to reach the Moon and Mars, and to build new homes in space is critical for the human future. What we learn, and what we will need to build and establish a place for humanity away from Earth, will also be a boon for those who remain. And it is the penultimate promise that God has given us, for our salvation. Once we have achieved that part of his plan for us, all that remains is to extend the span of our lives.  True immortality and the resurrection of the dead may be tasks beyond our ability, and something only God can do, at least for the foreseeable future.