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Barnes in Commonthe magazine of Churches Together in Barnes
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Believing in Spaceby Dr Colin Hicks
When things go well, as with the landing of the Hygens probe on Titan in January this year, everyone gets very excited and involved. At such times it's easy to forget the hard work and high risk associated with any space project. We focus on a celebration with our partners from around the world. The fact is that every successful rocket launch and every successful space mission – whether to another planet or to study the environment of our home planet – is a miracle of human ingenuity. We are always trying to do things that no one has ever attempted before. We only succeed – and believe it or not we usually do – if there has been an attention to detail which goes beyond that involved in the usual human endeavour. After all, this is rocket science! In my work I not only get involved in space missions whose purpose is to study the universe, but also in space missions involved in improving our understanding of our planet. I believe that God has entrusted the Earth to our care. Trying to understand the Earth better, whether it be aimed at the long-range effects of climate change or the prediction of tomorrow's weather, is a good use of our technical capabilities. So is the development of a wide range of global satellite systems, which can improve the quality of people's lives – sometimes even helping to save lives. Satellites in orbit are passive objects which simply help us observe the earth, know where things are, and enable swift and global communications. But we put them to use in a variety of ways. They help us track hurricanes, predict floods, monitor harvests, guide aircraft, locate lost people at sea, and even enable us to watch sporting events from the other side of the world. In recent years we have been developing new services to support relief workers in areas hit by war and famine, like the Sudan, or subject to earthquake and tsunamis, as in Bam and Indonesia. By their nature these satellite services are global in many senses – they depend on information gathered from around the world and can help people all over the world. Indeed, space is truly a global endeavour. Almost all our space missions are developed in collaboration with colleagues in the European Space Agency and with other people from all over the world. It is not unusual for me to be in a telephone conference with people in Argentina, China, France, Germany, Japan and the USA. We learn to work together and respect each other's skills and perspectives on life. Looking back over the past fifty years, I can see how using space has changed our lives. I can remember the first satellite being launched (1957) and the first transatlantic television broadcast (1962). Because I remember when it could not be done, every time I have such a telephone conference I still have a sense of wonder because I do not take it for granted that we can communicate so easily with any part of the world. We should never lose our sense of wonder. God has given us a universe of infinite wonders which we can explore and use. He has also given us the ability to develop and use science and technology to create new wonders. But beyond that sense of wonder should be a sense of responsibility – to use our God-given gifts to make the world a better place. Dr Colin Hicks is a member of Teddington Baptist Church |
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