NASA Official Talks Aliens While Russia Denies Moon Walks

Is it impossible for the U.S. and Russia to agree on anything? While a NASA official and former astronaut talked at a science conference about the search for intelligent life in space, a Russian official proposed investigating whether NASA actually sent humans to the moon. Really?

At the Astrobiology Science Conference held this week in Chicago, John Grunsfeld, former astronaut and current associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, had this to say about the existence of other species in space.

If there is life out there, intelligent life, they’ll know we’re here. We put atmospheric signatures that guarantee someone with a large telescope 20 light years away could detect us.

Grunsfeld is an experienced space traveler, having been on five space shuttle missions, and an expert in exoplanet studies so he should know something about the search for extraterrestrial life. He’s not the only NASA official discussing it either. NASA's current chief scientist Ellen Stofan said recently that she believes we could find alien life by 2025.

While at least some NASA officials are looking forwards, Russians seem to be going backwards. Vladimir Markin, spokesperson for Russia's Investigative Committee, is calling for an international probe on the U.S. moon landings between 1969 and 1972. He won’t believe they happened until NASA explains why there is no film footage from the original moon landing and where the 380 kg (838 pounds) of lunar rocks supposedly brought back on the missions disappeared to.

NASA finally admitted in 2009 that the original video was erased. And while a small portion of the moon rocks are on display in museums, most of them are hidden from the public at Johnson Space Center in Texas. That’s the kind of stuff that gets conspiracy theories started, especially in Russia and Texas.

Instead of showing them the rocks, NASA says Russia is just upset about the FIFA corruption scandal and the possibility it could lose the 2018 World Cup.

Can you people stop pointing fingers at each other and go back to pointing them at where the aliens are?