AS BUZZ TIES THE KNOT FOR A FOURTH TIME, THE SMELL OF GOD SEEMS TO HANG AROUND IN SPACE... LOONIES ABOUND AROUND THIS SUBJECT EVER SINCE YURI GAGARIN DID NOT FIND GOD DURING HIS FAMOUS TRIP ON 12 APRIL 1961.

BUT SOME SPECIALISTS OF THE SUBJECT ARE NOW WARNING US ABOUT THE NEW RELIGION OF SPACE CONQUEST...

A revealing look at the parallel mythologies behind the colonization of Earth and space — and a bold vision for a more equitable, responsible future both on and beyond our planet.
 
As environmental, political, and public health crises multiply on Earth, we are also at the dawn of a new space race in which governments team up with celebrity billionaires to exploit the cosmos for human gain. The best-known of these pioneers are selling different visions of the future: while Elon Musk and SpaceX seek to establish a human presence on Mars, Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin work toward moving millions of earthlings into rotating near-Earth habitats. Despite these distinctions, these two billionaires share a core utopian project: the salvation of humanity through the exploitation of space.
 
In Astrotopia, philosopher of science and religion Mary-Jane Rubenstein pulls back the curtain on the not-so-new myths these space barons are peddling, like growth without limit, energy without guilt, and salvation in a brand-new world. As Rubenstein reveals, we have already seen the destructive effects of this frontier zealotry in the centuries-long history of European colonialism. Much like the imperial project on Earth, this renewed effort to conquer space is presented as a religious calling: in the face of a coming apocalypse, some very wealthy messiahs are offering an other-worldly escape to a chosen few. But Rubenstein does more than expose the values of capitalist technoscience as the product of bad mythologies. She offers a vision of exploring space without reproducing the atrocities of earthly colonialism, encouraging us to find and even make stories that put cosmic caretaking over profiteering.

https://www.amazon.com/Astrotopia-Dangerous-Religion-Corporate-Space/dp/0226821129

YEP. NO NEED TO TELL YOU THAT THE AUTHOR OF THIS BOOK, Mary-Jane Rubenstein, SHOULD BE DISMISSED FORTHWITH WITHOUT GUILT. SHE IS A RELIGIOUS NUT AND MEMBER OF the International Society for Science and Religion (ISSR) — a learned society established in 2001 for the purpose of the promotion of education through the support of inter-disciplinary learning and research in the fields of science and religion conducted where possible in an international and multi-faith context.

AS WE HAVE MENTIONED MANY TIMES ON THIS LEARNED WEBSITE, RELIGIONS AND SCIENCES DO NOT MIX.

MEANWHILE BUZZ ALDRIN, PERFORMED A PRESBYTARIAN SERVICE (THE FIRST RELIGIOUS SERVICE) ON THE MOON AND GAVE HIMSELF COMMUNION. WHY NOT. 

AMERICANS FIND IT HARD TO DROP THE CONCEPT OF GOD, INCLUDING SCIENTISTS AND BUZZONAUTS...

ONE CAN HAVE RESERVATIONS ABOUT PRIVATE PROFITEERS COLONISING SPACE (WE'RE FAR FAR FAR FROM THIS YET) AND BATTLING OUT AS WHO CAN JUMP THE HIGHEST IN THE VOID WHERE TRAVEL WILL BE BORING AND PHYSICALLY DIMINISHING.

EVEN IN "OUR" SOLAR SYSTEM, THERE ARE FEW ALTERNATIVES TO THE BLUE PLANET FOR THE EMPIRE TO CONQUER. NONE. NOT EVEN THE MOON. BUT THE THRILL IS THERE, UNCONSTESTABLY. PROBES THAT WE SENT 50 YEARS AGO ARE ON THE EDGE OF THE PHOBOSPHERE (OR WHATEVER) AND WE STILL KNOW THAT SPACE IS COLD, UNPLEASANT AND FULL OF NASTY RADIATION. SO THE IDEA IS TO CREATE AN ARTIFICIAL SATELLITE WITH AN ARTIFICIAL HUMAN COLONY. BEAUT.

DEMOCRACY IN SPACE SOUNDS LIKE THE SAME MESS AS DEMOCRACY ON THE ORIGINAL PLANET (NO ORIGINAL SIN PLEASE).

ME SEZ: LET THEM GO, BEYOND THE END OF THEIR NOSES....

FREE JULIAN ASSANGE NOW....