People have this idea of scientists in general and NASA in particular as being purely objective and data-driven and let the science speak for itself, but articles like this illustrate that they are at least as political and irrational as any commercial entity.
Politics is a human thing, it is an artifact of interaction of persons and peoples. And irrationalness is as human as a fart, you know it's rude and it's wrong, but sometimes it happens. The fact is, we're hard-wired to be politic, irrational and superstitious.
