iverse. This is despite the frequent belittling, by evolutionists, of the importance of Earth.
The above also implies that God did not create any other life forms elsewhere in the universe.21
If, however, some form of microbial life should one day be found on Mars, Europa, or elsewhere within our solar system, this would not prove that it had evolved (or been created) there. Such life could be seeded from Earth, because:
If rocks can be blasted from Mars to Earth, the process should also be possible from Earth to Mars, as physicist Paul Davies suggests.22
Bacterial spores may be able to survive the relatively short journey involved compared to interstellar travel.
Spores in Earth’s upper atmosphere could be pushed into space and then to another planet or moon by the solar wind.
There is always the risk of contamination by Earth bacteria of the surface of a planet or moon on which any man-made space vehicle lands and digs.
Why the frantic search for life on other planets?
Such a find could be used to reinforce the idea that it is easy, if not inevitable, for life to arise by itself from lifeless chemicals.
If it can be shown that life exists elsewhere in space, it would assist those who claim that Earth life began “out there” (see main text).
Projects to investigate life elsewhere in the universe overshadow more mundane Earth-directed research in attracting public interest and tax dollars!
Space-life enthusiasts like to say that “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence”. Perhaps, but they have never been able to answer the famous question posed by Nobel-Prize-winning physicist Enrico Fermi half a century ago concerning all the other alleged civilizations in the universe: “Well then, where is everybody?” SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, which now uses equipment that scans 28 million radio frequencies per second, has failed to obtain a single “intelligent” signal from outer space in over 50 years.
In April 2000, 600 astronomers, biologists, chemists, geologists, and other researchers met at the First Astrobiology Science Conference, held at NASA’s Ames Research Centre, California,23 to evaluate the evidence on whether, biologically speaking, we are alone in the universe. The predominant mood of pessimism was encapsulated by British palenontologist Simon Conway Morris’s comment: “I don’t think there is anything out there at all except ourselves,” and Dan Cleese, a Mars program scientist at NASA’s Pasadena Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who said that it is time to “tone down expectations”.24
The fervent search to authenticate “astrobiology” has generated much data, but to date this has, if anything, strengthened the Genesis record of the creation of life on Earth. Contrary to the claims of evolutionists and the many imaginative Hollywood epics like ET, Star Wars, Independence Day, etc., the coming of aliens to Earth from outer space will always remain in the realm of science fiction.
Editorial note: As this article originally appeared in 2000, the section “Search for other planets” has been updated and relevant articles post-2000 have been included in the references. Also the box “Alien Visitors to Earth?” (below) has kindly been supplied by Dr Jonathan Sarfati.
Alien visitors to Earth?
Not with the huge energy shortage and megaton dust bombs
Films involving intelligent life on other planets have been some of the best box-office smashes, e.g. Avatar, the Star Wars and Star Trek films, Independence Day. All these are cultural icons. But as we have pointed out many times, intelligent life on other planets is contradicted by Scripture,25 and presupposes chemical evolution: that life evolved from non-living chemicals.26 And as will be shown, there are huge scientific problems for the idea of interstellar space travel as well, including a huge lack of energy.
Distances between stars are literally astronomical. The closest star system to ours is Alpha Centauri, 4.37 light years away. I.e. its light, although travelling at 300,000 km/s (186,000 mps), takes 4.37 years to get here. One light year is just under 10