Control Over Pathfinder Shifts From NASA to NSA NASA Press Conferences Substitute Show Biz for Hard Data Men in Black Black Impede NASA Research Efforts NASA Press Conferences Substitute Show Biz for Hard Data (Update: July 20) Continuing Area 51 involvement in the Pathfinder mission is creating a virtual stranglehold on public access to Mars data. As more and more transmission seemed to indicate, not just the existence of early life on Mars, but direct extraterrestrial monitoring of the Pathfinder mission, officials restricted the flow of real information to almost nothing. After the "Independence Day" photographs were transmitted, the proof of extraterrestrial involvement became so convincing that Area 51 officials decided to distract the public with stories of continued software breakdowns while they collected and buried the real data. When NASA officials, particularly the software engineering team, complained that the cover stories were making them look like fools, the oversight team came up with the 3D scenario, in which NASA wowed the public with 3D photos and Virtual Reality movies to cover up the lack of hard data being transmitted. (top) Area 51 officials devised a plan to distract the press and public with 3D images of Mars. By distributing 3D glasses and Virtual reality images, the press became caught up in the "tech" aspect of the mission and overlooked the information NASA was burying beneath their noses. Men in Black Black Impede NASA Research Efforts (Original Story: July 12) Immediately upon the discovery of Monolith 2, NSA and Air Force officials from Area 51 in Nevada (NSAa51)closed off publicity and began altering the appearance of Martian photographs to be released to the public. Officially claiming that Sojourner couldn't begin its work until the landing craft air bags were retracted, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory began live broadcasts only after Sojourner had analyzed Monolith 2 and removed it from view. NSAa51 representatives, referred to in popular literature and a new film parody as "Men in Black," took control of the mission even as the the Pathfinder Mission crew congratulated itself for a successful landing. Celebrating mission scientists barely noted the arrival of NSAa51 agents, popularly known as "Men in Black." The NSA presence is resented by the mission crew who refer to them as "Bozos in Black," and "walking Ken dolls." "Those guys were in Pasadena before the first photos arrived," my source told me. "It's like they knew what we would find. They're always getting in our way. We call them Bozos in Black. "We told everybody that Sojourner was waiting for the air bags to retract. What a laugh. We were really cleaning up the area so that we could show it to the public." Supervising every photo, press conference, press release and web site, NSAa51 representatives became a filter to the information released to the public.  Above and right: Pathfinder project scientist Matthew Golembek addresses eager reporters with news about the successful landing. Invisible to the camera, an NSAa51 representative monitored the press conference to make sure he didn't reveal the real news of the day. Project scientist Matthew Golembek was particularly furious about the NSA intrusion into the Pasadena-based Jet Propulsion Laboratory. According to my source, Golembek calls them, "walking Ken dolls, mostly plastic with no software to speak of." Nonetheless, it is clear that the Pathfinder Mars Mission now falls clearly under the jurisdiction of Area 51 and its own extraterrestrial researches. Even more disturbing, the NSA involvement has given rise to speculation that there may be more evidence of extraterrestrial life forms than previously supposed. (Top)