Voyager and It's Mission

Copyright Rabbi Eli Hecht
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This month Norm Haynes, Voyager project manager, stated that after traveling some 4.4 billion miles since 1977, the voyager spacecraft came "within 20 miles of the point we were aiming at." He felt that the navigation team nailed it right on the button.

According to the Friday, August 25, Los Angeles Times report, Voyager arrived at Neptune within 1.4 seconds of its schedule, which was set several years ago. This is something of a modern miracle; a real major breakthrough in space exploration. It's hard even to think of the millions of dollars and thousands of man hours given to this monumental project.

When we think of how this spacecraft works, we find that it is, of course, really controlled by us earthlings. Voyager has no intelligence of its own, it is programmed to do whatever it is instructed to do. Whenever the vehicle strays from its programmed path, the scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratories, JPL, send a signal to correct its flight.

If Voyager and its controllers on earth were to lose contact, the craft would not know where to go and its mission would be over. Its guiding force comes from one place only, the JPL center.

Besides the scientific details to be learned from Voyager's trip, there are details that can teach us an important lesson for the conduct of our own lives.

Aboard the spacecraft are messages of greeting in 54 languages, including Yiddish, and a special greeting from the U.N. Somehow, some way, we are trying to reach the extraterrestrials. Well, we have, and the message may be the following: That there is a G‑d up there. The L-rd created the universe, and did not, Heaven forbid, abandon it to haphazard events and deterioration through neglect. He continues to personally watch over and control the events of the worlds. As we say in daily prayers, "in His goodness He renews the creation every day."

The harmony observed in space is beyond anybody's comprehension. As we delve deeper into the insights brought to us by the entire space program, we recognize that there are limits to man's knowledge. As we learn more about space we are continually required to adjust and correct our ideas. Yesterday's knowledge of science, which we felt to be absolute truth, is now being rewritten! Baselines have changed and the space charts are being re-drawn.

Science changes, but the Torah remains the same. As we contemplate the profound and infinite glory of the cosmos, the more our spirit rises to understand more ethereal and universal truths, the closer we come to granting recognition to the one G‑d who created it all.

We realize that just as nothing in this world is an accident, neither are the current discoveries in the science of astronomy and space exploration, happening by chance. As we stop to marvel at the incredible beauty of the galaxies, the comets and meteors, and the recently discovered additional moons, the white clouds, the presence of methane gas on the cold, icy Triton, we hear the jubilant voice of Edward Stone, Voyager's chief scientist, say, "This is the day." These words echo our Rosh Hashana prayer describing a New Year.

In a way, we are like Voyager. As Voyager needs guidance from the scientists at JPL, we need the guidance of Torah. Without ground control, Voyager would wander aimlessly through space. Without Torah, so would we. As Voyager's mission is full of significance, discovery and reward, so potentially, can our lives be. The JPL insures that the mission will succeed.

For the Jew, JPL stands for Jewish Prayer and Learning - the lab that insures the Jews success for this world mission. Our true path is guided by Torah and our mission is to travel, to explore the world and chart it with mitzvot. More than billions of dollars are invested in our mission to succeed here on Mother Earth. Everything has been invested in us to succeed. Our craft is fully equipped for a long and successful mission. Our duties are to stay in touch and report through JPL.

G‑d is our project manager and wants us to succeed. We must stay on track.