"Curiosity" Rover Heading to Mars

(AP Photo/Terry Renna)

The rover "Curiosity," the largest ever sent to Mars, took off on its 354 million-mile journey on Saturday, which will last over a period of approximately 8 1/2 months, if all goes well.

Specs of Curiosity are 10 feet long, 9 feet wide, and 7 feet tall. It weighs in at about 1 ton, and is nuclear-powered.

Curiosity's mission is to search out whether or not the planet neighbor may be able to support life, or if microbial life existed at one time in the past.

Measurements planned include the amount of radiation on the planet, as well as climate readings such as humidity, wind and temperature. That will come from a weather station embedded in the rover.

According to NASA, assuming everything goes close to as planned, the rover will travel at least 12 miles on the surface of the planet. It will be fueled by 10.6 pounds of radioactive plutonium.

To drill into the red rock on the planet's surface, there is a 7-foot arm which includes a jackhammer at the end of the drill.

The projected date of arrival for Curiosity on Mars is sometime in August 2012.

Two other missions are currently under way by NASA, with Grail heading for the moon of Earth, and the Juno probe on its way to Jupiter.

While it's interesting to see this mission, it shouldn't be underwritten by the government, as it's not part of God's purpose. Rather it should be financed by private parties, which will no doubt be the future of space exploration.

As for life on other planets, I don't see that as being a reality, in the sense of intelligent life. But I do see the potential of microbial life, as Jesus Christ, who has created all things, is life Himself, and it wouldn't be surprising at all to see building blocks of life on planets other than Earth.

Nasa Scientists Think There are Living Microbes on Mars! It Wouldn't Surprise Me

I've thought a long time about what would happen if life of some type was found on other planets, as I have always known it had to be there. Why? God is life. It would be impossible for Him to create something based on invisible traits of Himself without there being some type of life connected to it.

So when I heard there's a possibility that just underneath the Martian soil there are living microbes, I thought it was very probable.

The idea by some scientists is the methane surrounding the planet is actually a "waste product by organisms called methanogens living in water beneath underground ice."

They also assume they're still alive or the methane would no longer be in the Martian atmosphere.

What has spurred this speculation is the lack of active volcanoes on the planet, which is a source of methane. That led them to the belief there are these living microbes, which some believe could also be in a state of suspended animation and could be revived.

While it's highly doubtful we'll find life in the form presented to us by science fiction creators, we will definitely find there is life wherever God may allow us to go.

If He gives us the time before He returns to explore some of the vast elements of space, we'll probably find the types of living organisms a human society could be built upon if we eventually inhabit other planets.

Now why is this being brought up at this time as far as NASA goes? It's about financing their institution. It's to spur the imaginations of people so they won't resist public funds being transferred to the government agency, which a growing number of people think should be handled by private companies.

It is fun to think about in spite of this, and also enjoyable to think that Jesus created life, and wherever His creation is located, life is there, for He is life.