Many around the world believe in a god, or gods: a supernatural being with powers beyond human
comprehension. But, while some argue that there could never be physical proof of god, because that
would take away faith and free will… others assert that there is evidence, if you know where to look
for it. And, perhaps what better place to look than out into the vast, unknown regions of space?
This is Unveiled, and today we’re asking the extraordinary question:
could NASA be hiding proof of God?
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Although various organizations have sent probes and people into space,
NASA has sent more (and been involved in more missions) than any other entity in the world.
From the Hubble and Webb telescopes, which observe objects millions of lightyears away,
to explorers and rovers that wander the surfaces of other planets, to the Voyager spacecraft that
have ventured beyond our solar system, NASA has created a powerful range of tools to explore the
incredibly vast universe surrounding our little planet. The Agency is in a unique position,
therefore, to find answers to questions humans have been wondering about since
we were able to wonder: Where did the world come from? How did we get here?
While these questions may be answerable by scientific investigation, many see philosophical
implications in them as well. Humans have always been extraordinarily curious; we seek patterns,
reasons, and explanations for everything. We want to understand ourselves and the world around
us – and those two investigations are intimately connected. As Carl Sagan once said, “The Cosmos
is also within us. We are made of star stuff. We are a way for the Cosmos to know itself.”
Therefore, it follows that in finding out more about the universe, NASA is also finding out
more about us. However, discovering things isn’t always the same as truly understanding them. For
instance, the Hubble Telescope recently spotted what appears to be a spiral of
young stars in a galaxy near the Milky Way. Spirals are a fairly common shape in Nature,
but why would newly-formed stars be spiraling toward a common center? Astronomers think a
spiral may be the most efficient shape for star formation, but they aren’t 100% sure.
There are many more such mysteries when it comes to outer space, and some that are even more
obscure. For example, if black holes draw in light and matter, should there be corresponding “white
holes” that generate matter and energy? Einstein’s Theory of Relativity suggests there should be,
but signs of white holes remain entirely elusive. Then there’s the issue of “dark matter” and “dark
energy,” both of which seem to exist, yet have almost no defining characteristics. All we know
is that the regular matter and energy we can measure takes up only a small amount of what
should be there in total. Again, we’ve made discoveries, but we don’t yet understand them.
Can these mysteries eventually be solved with science? Scientists like to think so. But if not,
what then? Are some things simply beyond human comprehension? And would that (in
itself) indicate the presence of a higher being – something that’s more knowledgeable and powerful
than ourselves? Many believe that, yes, it would. And humans have been ascribing events
they don’t understand to the work of gods for thousands of years: including weather,
diseases, the movements of the stars, and so on. Even now, when scientists or philosophers point
to what might be called “evidence” of god, it generally consists of the unknown, rather than
the known - things like what initiated the Big Bang, how life on Earth began, and how to define
consciousness. We don’t have a definite answer for any of those, so the answer for some… is god.
But if we exclude things we don’t know or don’t understand yet, is there anything else that could
constitute divine proof? Much depends on what kind of god we’re talking about. There’s an old
paradox about God creating a weight too heavy even for God itself to lift. The question then arises
that if the laws of physics were planned and set in motion by an all-powerful being, can that being
break those laws? From our perspective, we talk of physical impossibilities… so, if God were to exist
and be beyond the physics we have, then no amount of searching by us will ever find God. Instead,
God (or gods) would have to choose to reveal themselves. If an omnipotent god existed,
it could presumably prove so by doing something that totally broke every known rule of time and
space – if it wanted to. But, then, how would we know that that was what was happening? Just one
person seeing something peculiar isn’t enough; time and again, the human brain has shown it can
create bizarre hallucinations that seem completely real, but only to the person experiencing them.
True, unquestionable proof could only come en masse. Because, what if there was something
so huge and incredible, but also that was observable, testable, and accessible to multiple
people? Which brings us back to the depths of space, the limits of the universe, and NASA.
If anyone were in a position to view an object or event that appeared to break the laws of
physics – and more importantly, record it – it’s astronomers and space researchers. Not
least because these people deal in (and around) the speed of light, and across all the foremost
known extremes of our existence. For example, we of course know that while light travels incredibly
fast, so much time has elapsed since the presumed “beginning” of the universe that we can only ever
observe the light that’s been able to reach us since then. But that means that there’s still so
much more for us to see, to an almost infinite degree, as the universe continually unfolds
all around us. If you were looking for proof of God, then, what better place to concentrate on?
With just one case study, we can see the enormous potential. In 2022, the University
of Tokyo released images of a galaxy known as HD1, which is now claimed as the farthest-away object
in the universe to be observed. Its light took 13.5 billion years to reach us today,
meaning it’s only a few hundred million years old as per the big bang theory – in galactic terms,
it’s a baby. Previously, in 2016, the Hubble space telescope had managed to locate the infant galaxy,
GN-z11, with light that had taken 13.4 billion years to get here. But NASA (and the likes of)
are continually pushing that boundary, and we’ve never been closer than we are right
now to reaching the beginning of the universal timeline. The start of all things. What happens
when we get there? No one can predict with certainty, but those with their eyes most
trained on that final destination are surely anticipating a revelation of some kind. Here
lies the apparent potential for a “meeting with God”. And there follows the debate as to whether
any one person or group with such knowledge would choose to share it with the world?
Although NASA is a scientific institution dedicated to sharing knowledge, its policy
on free and open data has an important qualifier: the organization cannot release information that’s
considered classified or “sensitive” by the national government. This makes sense in some
ways, as neither the US nor other countries would want the public to be aware of the exact location
of military aircraft and satellites, for example. But still, in general, the law does prohibit NASA
from releasing information to the public if the government doesn’t want them to. And with “proof
of God”, would any government really want to show that? The often-cited fears of mass hysteria,
and the general unpredictability of what could happen if the veil of God was lifted,
might well be enough for the “powers that be” to keep quiet. Especially if the proof had somehow
been found not on Earth, but far enough out into the cosmos. Such a God would still be watching us,
yes, as is unavoidable with the general concept, but would be affecting us no more (or less) than
ever before. Already, ideas on God divide the world… so, could proof of God break it even more?
For now, these questions are very open… but it still feels unlikely, perhaps impossible,
that even something with as wide and deep a scope of knowledge as NASA could ever find
itself covering up God. The government may be powerful, but it’s not that powerful… and
if a god (or a group of gods) did want to make themselves known, they could probably
do so without the approval of the White House, the military, NASA, or anyone else.
Nevertheless, it’s an intriguing path to travel down... because, if not God,
then what will be revealed as we venture farther into space and farther back in
time? In recent years, NASA has hardly slowed down in its pursuit to answer
the biggest questions of why (and how) we’re here. So the broader question remains fair;
what would NASA do if it discovered something to truly shake the foundations of human philosophy?
What do you think? Is there anything we missed? Let us know in the comments, check out these other
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