No, I don’t mean aliens. Well, maybe — but more on that later.

Earlier this week, SpaceX launched their Falcon Heavy rocket in one of the most widely watched livestream events ever. It culminated in something truly unique as test launches go: a car being sent into orbit. And not just any car, but CEO Elon Musk’s personal, cherry-red Tesla Roadster. And sitting in the driver seat, “Starman,” a dummy wearing a fashionable spacesuit. The iconic images from this launch are defining a new age of space travel.

There’s been no shortage of commentary and debate about the optics of this launch. Some have lauded it as “the best marketing ever” for SpaceX (and Tesla), others as wasteful “while millions starve.” Some have questioned the very idea of space exploration since our planet “is literally going to hell” while still others have pointed out that whole generation will be inspired to pursue engineering jobs, and isn’t that better than being inspired by celebrities?

I’ll save my comments on these debates for a future post, but for now I want to focus on the image itself and the overt message it sends: human beings will be in space for the long haul. The way that SpaceX configured the launch, the upper stage of Falcon Heavy (atop which Starman sits in his car) will fly past Mars and stay in space forever. It’s not going to come back to Earth. And it even overshot the original trajectory of a Mars orbit and will end up sailing near the asteroid belt:

There’s something very different about the image of a “man” cruising around space than a mere satellite or robot. And it ties directly into Elon Musk’s vision to make human life multiplanetary. The Falcon Heavy launch is an important milestone into his plan to colonize Mars and turn humanity into a spacefaring civilization. This is the ultimate goal of SpaceX:

Not just explorers sent to Mars to walk around for a few days like the Apollo missions on the Moon. But a whole city of people on Mars. (See that dome in the background?) This is a compelling vision, and it brings us back to the beginning:

Do we have room in our theology for Martians?

As in, people who not only live on Mars, but are born there?

For many people of faith, this does not present any sort of quandary. But for those of us within conservative evangelical circles, it creates a bit of angst. Best I can tell, our discomfort originates from this dilemma: when Jesus physically comes back to the Earth, how will “every eye see him” if some of those sets of eyes are not on the planet? How will people on Mars see the second coming? Worse, what if everyone leaves Earth to live on Mars?

I imagine for some of us, we find sort of an escape hatch here: it won’t be possible for “Martians” to witness the Glorious Appearing from another planet, therefore no one will be there. Jesus will come back before humans settle Mars. That seems airtight on the surface, but it quickly breaks down. What about the six astronauts who are currently aboard the International Space Station? Can Jesus not return until they all come back down the gravity well? What about the twelve men who lived on the Moon almost fifty years ago? Could Jesus not have returned during the years of 1968 and 1972?

There’s a much simpler answer to this: God is not restrained in His plans.

Whatever space civilizations humans create (or don’t), God has His own way of accomplishing what He’s laid out in Revelation. So I’m not worried at all about whether humans live and die and are born on Mars. But maybe that leads to an even more uncomfortable question: should Christians send missionaries to the cities on Mars?

What questions did Starman bring up for you?