Why Is NASA Backtracking?

Yesterday I wrote about the announcement that two NASA scientists were ready to publish a paper claiming live may currently exist on Mars. Today, it’s a different story. From MSNBC:

NASA nixes claims of Mars life: NASA on Friday issued an unusual denial of a report that its researchers found strong evidence for life’s existence on present-day Mars.

Earlier this week, sources told the weekly Space News that NASA scientists Carol Stoker and Larry Lemke had submitted a paper to the journal Nature outlining the evidence for biological activity on the Red Planet, based on the signature of methane found in the Martian atmosphere.

However, NASA’s newly issued statement claims that’s not the case:

If this were a ‘real’ news site, I’d never say this. But, since this is nothing more than a venue for my opinions, I’ll say it. This so smells of politics!

Friends, closer to NASA than I am, say they’ve already heard chatter from others that this speculation was quashed from above. Again, in real news this third hand info should never see the light of day… and I’m telling you know I have this on very shaky authority.

Still, based on whatever experience I have, something doesn’t smell right.