The Next Frontier? Part 1

Let’s pause for a moment—to step away from the noise... and lean into what’s real. Because this conversation is about humanity’s next frontier—and whether our greatest challenge is reaching another planet or understanding our purpose on this one. We are looking at something that sounds like it belongs in science fiction…but is increasingly being treated as strategy. And that is Mars.

Not just as a destination for exploration — but as a place people are actively discussing as a future home, a future economy, maybe even a future civilization.

Companies like SpaceX are openly talking about building the infrastructure for a million-person settlement on Mars. Economists and thinkers like Dr. Rainer Zitelmann, are asking questions that go beyond rockets and engineering. Questions about ownership, incentives, markets, and whether a society on another planet would need an entirely new economic system to survive.

And if we’re honest, this isn’t the first time Mars has carried that kind of weight in our imagination. Because how we see Mars has always said something about how we see ourselves.

In the 1950s, Mars was often portrayed as something threatening — the “Red Planet” becoming a backdrop for Cold War fears. Stories like War of the Worlds and Invaders from Mars reflected a culture anxious about invasion, infiltration, and forces beyond our control. By the 1960s, that image began to shift. As the Space Race took hold,

Mars became less about fear and more about possibility. A place of scientific wonder, exploration, and even mystery. Science fiction of the era started imagining not just hostile worlds, but higher forms of life, unknown civilizations, and the idea that humanity itself might be stepping into a larger cosmic story.

So Mars has never been JUST Mars. It’s been a canvas for human hopes, fears, and imagination. And that continues today. Because now, the conversation is no longer just fiction or philosophy. It’s strategy. Investment. Engineering. Long-term planning. And that raises a deeper question for us here on Earth. Why does this idea grip people so strongly? Because it’s not really just about Mars.

It’s about limits.

Some people hear “Mars colonization” and they feel excitement — a kind of return to exploration, and to ambition. Others hear it and feel unease — like we’re rushing toward something we don’t fully understand, or solving distant problems while ignoring urgent ones right here at home. And both reactions deserve to be taken seriously. Because history tells us something important: human ambition always comes with tension. We build, we expand, we innovate — but we also wrestle with consequences we don’t always foresee. And Scripture itself doesn’t treat curiosity as something empty or misplaced. Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, and the glory of kings to search it out.” And Psalm 19 reminds us, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” So there is something deeply human — and some would say deeply God- given — about looking up and wondering what is out there. For many, Mars represents that desire to explore, to discover, to understand more of creation itself. But even then… it brings us right back to tension. Because curiosity can lead us toward wonder… or toward the belief that everything can be mastered. That’s why these questions aren’t just technical. They’re moral. Economic.

Even spiritual.

What does it mean to “expand” as a species? And what do we carry with us when we do? There’s a line in Scripture, Psalm 8, that asks: “What is man that You are mindful of him… You have made him a little lower than the angels and crowned him with glory and honor.” It’s a reminder that human beings are both small in the universe… and yet entrusted with incredible capability. We are builders. Explorers. But also stewards. And stewardship matters — whether we’re talking about Earth, or the idea of another planet entirely.

So as we talk today with Dr. Zitelmann, I’m NOT coming at this with a conclusion. I’m coming at it with curiosity. Because whether Mars becomes a home, a hub of innovation, or simply a symbol of human aspiration — the real question might not be can we go? It might be who are we becoming in the process? And that’s My Take Be sure to look for part 2 on The New Frontier in next week’s newsletter.

We would love to hear your thoughts on this subject.