Tuesday, May 10, 2005

It might sound like the funny subplot to a West Wing episode, but sadly it's real: NASA is being sued by a Russian astrologer named Marina Bai who claims the agency's Deep Impact mission will damage the psychic fabric of space.

According to a statement issued through Bai's lawyer, when the Deep Impact probe crashes into Comet Tempel 1 on July 4th of this year, it will "disrupt the natural balance of forces in the universe" and thereby infringe "on her spiritual and life values as well as the natural life of the cosmos."

Bai is seeking to force NASA to abort the mission. Not surprisingly, she's also looking for some cash. She wants punitive damages equal to the cost of the endeavor, roughly $300 million.

I can't decide if Bai is a charlatan looking for publicity or just deeply confused and deluded. Either way, I'm sure any disruption in the natural balance of her own life will be purely the result of self-fulling prophecy.

Posted @ 2:56 PM

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