Should NASA always tell the public the complete truth?

This is a question I have thought about at length. I believe the answer is no. I would like to see what others think about this?

A few facts first:

1. NASA is funded by tax paying citizens of the United States of America.

2. NASA is owned by the people of the United States of America.

3. NASA is the only space agency that has gained the expertise to consistently and safely place landers and rovers onto the surface of Mars.

4. Space is the greatest resource humans have other than our Earth.

5. Mars is one of the greatest accessible resources in space at this time. Mars has as much land as Earth and it is virgin land, full of untouched minerals.

6. The USA has spent great deals of money and time to gain the expertise to land on Mars and discover what is there.

7. The military keeps secrets, most of the time for good reason.


Here are a few questions:

1. If there is easily accessible water and a thicker atmosphere than is generally accepted should NASA tell the world?

2. If there is life on Mars that could be used for medicine or bioweapons should NASA tell the world?

3. If the light-toned fracture-fill material Curi is seeing is really gold and not calcium sulfate veins should NASA tell the world?

4. Should NASA keep secrets for good reason?

If one of the hypothetical questions above were true and NASA let the world know, it would start a space race / land grab / gold rush like never before in history. Should the US let China, Russia, etc. know what the US has spent trillions of dollars and decades of work to uncover, before the US is poised to exploit what it has spent time and treasure to discover?

I am interested to see if ATS thinks NASA should keep secrets if it has a good reason.

No the truth would cause a large loss of jobs in the animation industry and at Universal studios.

1. Yes.
2. Yes.
3. Yes.
4. No.

As long as I'm working to fund it I should know what is being learned with my money. I'm interested in space things as well.

Would it create even more competition regarding reaching and working with or on Mars, sure. But is that a bad thing? Look at all the terrible events throughout history and then the good that happened only because of those events.

Maybe it's just wishful thinking too but there is a tiny chance we could come together to not look at a potential next home as just greed... Maybe we could work together to get there. Now I'm not fan of globalism or the concepts of everybody under one banner but when it comes to space, at least at first and possibly afterwards I do think we'll get further working together instead of individually.

There is no question that NASA is keeping a ton of secrets, at least not for me. There have been something like 30 failed missions from varying space agencies to Mars out of 39, and most just have some cover story to hide what has really happened. The Russian space agency as well as a few cosmonauts have come forth with a few tidbits of truth regarding those failed missions.

The way I see it they (NASA) could release a lot of details of past space missions without harming national security, but once they release one shocking detail they would get hammered by more and more insistent inquiries, and they don't like people asking that many questions, plus it would reveal other things about how often they have lied to the public.

But also, NASA is not controlled by the public, they are under military rule, and very few at NASA even have clearance or need to know, for the most shocking things that have happened and been discovered.

a reply to: Noncents
If you are working to fund the military, should you know all of their secrets

a reply to: LookingAtMars
Well it's not a popular opinion I guess but yes. Otherwise how can the people make an informed decision when matters that really need handling arise? But isn't that beyond the scope of the conversation at hand?

a reply to: LookingAtMars

What do you mean complete truth, they haven't told us anything that is true, ever.

originally posted by: NoCorruptionAllowed
There is no question that NASA is keeping a ton of secrets

Agreed, I think there are a lot of secrets NASA is keeping that should be revealed, but I think there are some that should be kept secret.

I think the US needs to get to Mars ASAP, claim and protect what they have found and then tell the public everything they can.

originally posted by: FlatBastard
a reply to: LookingAtMars

What do you mean complete truth, they haven't told us anything that is true, ever.

In their way NASA does tell us some truths, you just have to know how to read between the lines. They have laws and guidelines to follow and can not flat out lie without good reason.

NASA is an agency of the United States government. The Chain of Command for NASA requires it to report to the Executive Branch. For funding purposes NASA reports to the Legislative Branch. Insofar as you want civilian oversight of what NASA does, there it is. Although NASA, like most other agencies, is subject to the FOIA, it has no direct responsibility to "The American People" to inform them (us) of anything it finds out. For example, if NASA found incontrovertible proof of alien life, protocol would have NASA inform the President, who would then decide when and how to inform the American People, if at all. If it was deemed a matter of National Security to withhold that information, it is within the President's right to do so and keep the matter classified.

The fact that NASA is paid for and owned by the citizens of the United States does not entitle the citizens to know everything NASA has discovered. The details don't matter. This is clearly established legal precedent that was in place long before NASA or its predecessor agencies ever existed. We may claim to have "the right to know" and may initiate lawsuits designed to establish our right to know, or pass legislation saying we have the right to know, e.g. FOIA, but there are a sufficient number of exemptions in laws of that nature to ensure that there is ample room to "hide" whatever they think they need to.

Obviously there are many of us who believe we have the right to know more than we are allowed to know, but it's so much hot air. We can rant and rave all we want, and it won't make any difference. If you believe you have such rights, I invite you to travel to Area 51, travel beyond the established threshold, and if you survive the encounter, tell us how badly you were mistreated while there.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

Agreed, I think there are a lot of secrets NASA is keeping that should be revealed, but I think there are some that should be kept secret.

Which ones?

Theres 2 sides to this the side we are told about and the occult side with links to Crowley,Nazi Scientists and other occultists back to its inception this side Hoagland writes about in his book Dark Mission you will definately never be told about

a reply to: LookingAtMars

NASA only exists to support a specific narrative.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

If one of the hypothetical questions above were true and NASA let the world know, it would start a space race / land grab / gold rush like never before in history. Should the US let China, Russia, etc. know what the US has spent trillions of dollars and decades of work to uncover, before the US is poised to exploit what it has spent time and treasure to discover/b]?

I say they had better tell the whole world so they can be prepared for the recompense and can of whoop ass that will be unleashed on us, when members of other planets see that we think that it is fine and dandy to go around raping and exploiting other planets. I am sure this will place us firmly within the bullseye.

Don't we do enough damage to our own planet? Do we need to take our evil destructive ways to other worlds? I am willing to bet if there is life on other planets, this is the quickest way to have them come a calling, and I don't think the results will be pretty.

a reply to: schuyler

Good boy.

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

I think Mars has always been our world, even before Earth was our world.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

Why do you think that?

originally posted by: FlatBastard
a reply to: schuyler

Good boy.

Umm, thanks. Do you have anything substantive to add to the conversation?

a reply to: LookingAtMars

1. If there is easily accessible water and a thicker atmosphere than is generally accepted should NASA tell the world?

Yes , but there isn't , NASA aren't the only space agency up there.

2. If there is life on Mars that could be used for medicine or bioweapons should NASA tell the world?

If there's life discovered anywhere NASA or any organisation should tell and provide the evidence.

3. If the light-toned fracture-fill material Curi is seeing is really gold and not calcium sulfate veins should NASA tell the world?

Dunno.

4. Should NASA keep secrets for good reason?

Depends on the reason , if it's that Aliens are coming to eat us and they'll be here in 3 years then yeah keep it a secret , we can deal with that when the time comes.

NASA is a cover space agency. They don't get the real goodies or the real space exploration