The Interstellar Probe That Testifies to the Spiritual Nature of Humankind

Topics such as space exploration and the possibility of life on other planets are bound to raise religious questions, if only insofar as they force a reckoning with the vastness of the cosmos in comparison to humanity. Reflecting on the Voyager 1 space probe, which was launched in 1977 and continues to transmit data to earth from a distance of fifteen billion miles, the Catholic writer George Weigel takes to task those who respond to such marvels with “melancholy bordering on despair.”