Silly Questions Keep NASA Hopping

Do you remember the calls to NASA back in 2011 related to the non-existent Apollo 18 mission following the movie by the same name? NASA responded as follows:

There never was a DoD-dedicated Apollo mission and no astronauts named Anderson, Walker or Grey were ever selected for NASA's astronaut corps, as the movie depicts, or failed to return from the moon...And for the record, [the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter] LRO found no evidence of an Apollo 18 mission. 

Then last year NASA spent time explaining to the public that the world would not end on December 21, 2012, as part of a Mayan calendar prediction.   Luckily, we are still here to discuss the matter, which further supports NASA's comments that such predictions were silly. 

So now 2013 rolls around and new questions arise concerning the possible construction of a Death Star by the United States government.  Yes, some are petitioning for such a contraption.  Specifically, about 34,000 individuals signed a petition at the We the People site, which stated:

Those who sign here petition the United States government to secure funding and resources, and begin construction on a Death Star by 2016.

By focusing our defense resources into a space-superiority platform and weapon system such as a Death Star, the government can spur job creation in the fields of construction, engineering, space exploration, and more, and strengthen our national defense.

The White House, with NASA's assistance, responded in part by stating:

• The construction of the Death Star has been estimated to cost more than $850,000,000,000,000,000. We're working hard to reduce the deficit, not expand it.
• The Administration does not support blowing up planets.
• Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?

Okay, I believe in this case at least that the authors of this position, and hopefully most of those signing it, were having a little bit of fun.  And the Administration was smart to use this opportunity to educate the public about the International Space Station, Mars rovers, Voyager spacecraft and more.  In noting the lack of a Death Star, the White House stated:

However, look carefully (here's how) and you'll notice something already floating in the sky -- that's no Moon, it's a Space Station! Yes, we already have a giant, football field-sized International Space Station in orbit around the Earth that's helping us learn how humans can live and thrive in space for long durations. The Space Station has six astronauts -- American, Russian, and Canadian -- living in it right now, conducting research, learning how to live and work in space over long periods of time, routinely welcoming visiting spacecraft and repairing onboard garbage mashers, etc. 

So, should we expect more such questions?  Maybe, but getting them through the system may be more difficult now that the We the People website has upped the number of required signatures from 25,000 to 100,000.  Here is another petition idea that was still floating around as of today: Publicly admit and disclose all information about extra-terrestrial beings, our true history, and peaceful technologies.  This one may require a combined response from NASA and the Department of Defense, though the petition has only 1,833 signatures and a week to go under the 30-day deadline.  However, in response to a similar petition concerning the existence of extraterrestrial life, the White House responded:

The U.S. government has no evidence that any life exists outside our planet, or that an extraterrestrial presence has contacted or engaged any member of the human race. In addition, there is no credible information to suggest that any evidence is being hidden from the public's eye.

By the way, our solar system already has a Death Star, according to NASA.  The image below of Saturn's moon Mimas seems to be a pretty close replica and therefore earned the nick name in the accompanying press release. 

If You Don't Believe Me, Here is the U.S. Government's Statement

I wanted to follow up on my earlier message about the end of the world, as foretold by the Mayans.  Here is what the U.S. Government released to the public:

False rumors about the end of the world in 2012 have been commonplace on the Internet for some time. Many of these rumors involve the Mayan calendar ending in 2012 (it won’t), a comet causing catastrophic effects (definitely not), a hidden planet sneaking up and colliding with us (no and no), and many others.  The world will not end on December 21, 2012, or any day in 2012.

NASA has also contributed to the argument, tackling the various doomsday scenarios circling the world, such as a collision with Nibiru:

The waxing obsession with Nibiru, which conspiracy theorists say is a planet swinging in from the outskirts of our solar system that is going to crash into Earth and wipe out humanity in 2012 — or, in some opinions, 2011 — shows that an astonishing number of people “are watching YouTube videos and visiting slick websites with nothing in their skeptical toolkit,” in the words of David Morrison, a planetary astronomer at NASA Ames Research Center and senior scientist at the NASA Astrobiology Institute and NASA Lunar Science Institute.

Morrison estimates that there are 2 million websites discussing the impending Nibiru-Earth collision. He receives, on average, five email inquiries about Nibiru every day. “At least a once a week I get a message from a young person ― as young as 11 ― who says they are ill and/or contemplating suicide because of the coming doomsday,” Morrison said.
 
The Russian government and others are making similar statements.  As with the Year 2000 scare, I expect we shall see continued chatter up until the next morning (December 22) when we all wake up and get back to our daily chores.

By the way, if you are interested in recent doomsday films, check out my earlier story.  Enjoy them and relax.

By The Way: The World is Not Ending

In about a month's time, or on December 21, 2012, to be exact, the world is supposed to end.  I just wanted to remind everyone again that this may be a slight exaggeration.  Hence, commence with your Christmas shopping. 

The story of the Mayan calendar that supposedly foretold this disaster was updated earlier this year based on findings in Xultún, Guatemala.  The wall paintings, some of the few remaining writings from a period almost obliterated by the book-burning Spanish, tells a story of time being recycled rather than ending.  As the New York Times wrote:

Rest assured, however, that nothing written on those walls foretells the world coming to an end on Dec. 21, 2012, as some have feared through a misinterpretation of the Maya Long Count calendar. That date is simply when one cycle of the Maya calendar ends and a new one begin...A change in the Long Count cycle, said Dr. Aveni, an astroarchaeologist, is like the odometer of a car rolling over from 120,000 to 130,000. “The car gets a step closer to the junkyard as the numbers turn over,” he said. “The Maya just start over.”

Amazon.com did well last holiday when everyone was buying books about the coming disaster, just like they will now do well with more books debunking this story.  Never underestimate the profitability of gullibility.