Nasa - now I am confused...

OK for years I have been hearing all this stuff about NASA, covering up moon landings, hiding information regarding challanger, photoshoping mars photos, etc... Suffice to say a majority of people here think they are full of it, and I have to say based on the information before me, I agree.

So I'm watching this program on history channell about the ALH84001 (martian meteorite that had the bacteria which was found in Antartica) and apparantly NASA went all out by saying its proof that life existed on Mars; at least on the microorgasm level millions of years ago. It was only until they started giving samples around to be tested did everyone say NASA was wrong and sparked a big debate about this claim.

Now I don't know about you but if an orgainzation known for covering up all the alien knowledge to the public would not be the first ones to jump the gun claiming alien life exists. Then the one time they make a claim that they found the proof of life on other planets is when everyone is telling them they are wrong.

So now I am confused is NASA covering things up or not, it all seems contradictory? Are they good guys or the bad guys?

Here's a link to some info on the meteorite which still intrigues me.
alh84001

That IS odd isn't it? I think there are 2 levels NASA deals with information.

1 - The information they collect, god know what's in it.

2 - The information they publically display.

The two are actually similar, but the public one, number 2, is a billion times slower. They want to make space exploration seem casual and fun to the public, when in reality they probably know boat loads on every planet in the solar system and more.

EDIT: Sorry, to be more direct, I imagine they would release information about life on Mars when it doesn't mean anything. That bacteria, does anyone really care? It's just a fun fact to most people. They want to distract from a bigger idea.

It could also be a way to get people to discredit life on Mars. For those who don't like NASA, they might want to say there is no life on Mars if NASA is saying there is. That's pretty childish though, only they would think it could work.

[edit on 24-8-2009 by Bananarama]

[edit on 24-8-2009 by Bananarama]

Originally posted by mvirata
OK for years I have been hearing all this stuff about NASA, covering up moon landings, hiding information regarding challanger, photoshoping mars photos, etc... Suffice to say a majority of people here think they are full of it, and I have to say based on the information before me, I agree.

So I'm watching this program on history channell about the ALH84001 (martian meteorite that had the bacteria which was found in Antartica) and apparantly NASA went all out by saying its proof that life existed on Mars; at least on the microorgasm level millions of years ago. It was only until they started giving samples around to be tested did everyone say NASA was wrong and sparked a big debate about this claim.

Now I don't know about you but if an orgainzation known for covering up all the alien knowledge to the public would not be the first ones to jump the gun claiming alien life exists. Then the one time they make a claim that they found the proof of life on other planets is when everyone is telling them they are wrong.

So now I am confused is NASA covering things up or not, it all seems contradictory? Are they good guys or the bad guys?

Here's a link to some info on the meteorite which still intrigues me.
alh84001

First things first.

microorgasm

EPIC!

Personally, I see it as progress. They don't not tell us things for the sake of not telling us, it is all about, we could call it the collective concensus of reality. As new's stories break, this view changes, we all have different views of the world, but this is the most important, it is what is often refered to as the 'status quo', what we believe as a civilization what is 'reality' or 'real'. The stsus quo HAS to change, otherwise questions would start being asked, what are we doing, nothing is happening.

In this sense, I believe that it is progression. For instance, imagine for a moment that there are megalithic sights on Mars, that NASA knows about. This is proof of life, yet it is a proof of life with much bigger implications, it is proof of advanced life, much similar to what we have come to know of Earth.

In this way, a microorganism is the least sensationalist, and doesn't change the status quo 'too much', they don't want to tip the boat, just rock it slightly.

That is my belief anyway.

I don't see NASA as the bad guy. They get their funding from the government, if they want to continue to exist as an organization, they must pander to the whims of their benefactor. It is more than likely the government that doesn't want all this out than NASA.

EMM

[edit on 24-8-2009 by ElectroMagnetic Multivers]

My impression is that the information got out before the powers that be knew about it. When they found out, it was too late because it was allready all over the news. So they had to do some damage control by trying to offer alternate theories.

Think about it. Not all of NASA could be in on a scam to supress the knowledge of life existing in places other than Earth. Only the people pulling the strings would be allowed to see the script of the puppet show.
So since this wasn't discovered by one of the rovers the big wigs probably didn't really have this on their radar untill it was too late. The last place they were thinking about finding proof of life on Mars was right here on Earth!

How nice it would be to see all gov.space related info. from all nations, that would be a major advancement for all humanity to be a part off,but instead we get _oh thats just a weather balloon SMH.

reply to post by mvirata

The way I see it, NASA has always been in the forefront in the search for life elsewhere. They have scientists who very openly have discussed the possibilities of life elsewhere and have described in detail potential ways that life could exist on specific planets and moons in our solar system.

One of the missions for NASA's probes is to look for places that life could possibly exist (or had existed). NASA seems to be single-handedly keeping the "life elsewhere" question on the minds of most average people.

NASA spends billions of dollars on spacecraft such as "Kepler" built specifically to look for Earth-like exo-planets existing in other stars' habitable zones.

If it wasn't for NASA wondering aloud about life elsewhere, it would probably only be discussed among academics and other scientists, and only a few average people would ever consider that their may be habitats for life in our solar system. I think NASA, the data they collect, and the research they do keeps that idea in the minds of the common person.

You mentioned the Mars meteorite. Here is another example (I posted this in another thread last week) of cutting-edge speculative science being done by NASA researchers about the possibility of life in the clouds of Venus. Granted, the researcher obviously did not say anything definite about Venus having life, but he seemed open to the possibilty of life in Venus' atmosphere, and went on to describe possible life-on-Venus scenarios.

Again, this article is an example of NASA spearheading the discussion about life elsewhere:

Here is the direct link to the PDF file of the article:
Source PDF -- Astrobiology: The Case for Venus

Or (if you don't want to link directly to the PDF), here is the source NASA web page I got the PDF from. Scroll down on the website to find the PDF link:
NASA.gov -- Astrobiology: The Case for Venus


[edit on 8/24/2009 by Soylent Green Is People]