Pathfinder & It's Mission
Recently, the Pathfinder team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratories, JPL, stated that after traveling some 300 million in a 7 month journey from Earth, the Pathfinder spacecraft came within the point we were aiming at. The navigation team nailed it right on the button.
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. Pathfinder 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 Pathfinder 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 Pathfinder'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 our needs here on earth in trying to reach the extraterrestrial. We want to learn their life and ways. Maybe we can learn some special message from Mars.
Well, in a way we have met something extraterrestrial. And the message may be the following: That there is a G‑d up there. That 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 taught in the Bible in His goodness He renews the creation every day.
The harmony observed in space is beyond any body'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 Bible 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, the great landing site-the Ares Vallis, an ancient flood plain. We hear the jubilant voices of scientists, say, This is the day.
In a way, we are like Pathfinder. As Pathfinder needs guidance from the scientists at JPL, we need the guidance of the Bible. Without ground control, Pathfinder would wander aimlessly through space. Without the Bible, so would we.
As Pathfinder's mission is full of significance, discovery and reward, so potentially, can our lives be. The JPL team insures that the mission will succeed.
For humans, JPL can also stand for Justice, Prayer and Learning - the lab that insures the humans success for this world mission.
Our true path is guided by the Bible and our mission is to travel, to explore the world and chart it with good deeds and kindness. 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.