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Mystery flying objects shot down from US skies aren't aliens. But if extraterrestrial life is real, NASA could discover evidence in your lifetime.

Fifty years ago to day a space ship passed by the planet Venus. The Earthlings had named the space craft "Mariner 2" and sent it to Venus for purely scientific purposes. Interplanetary domination was never the intention of this or any other Earth mission. And that began the story of planetary exploration as we know it. I believe Mariner 2 was the 13th exploratory un-personed space mission by NASA.

I have good news for lawmakers looking to purge wasteful spending from the federal budget: It’s a target-rich environment out there. That’s not to say you won’t encounter pushback from special-interest groups bent on preserving their slice of the pie. But a quick tour of the latest “Wastebook” from Sen. Jeff Flake, Arizona Republican, shows they don’t have any kind of credible defense. Let’s sample a few of this year’s most egregious examples:

The knowledge that we're not alone in the universe could have far-reaching effects on our view of ourselves and our place in the universe. But it's tough to get more specific than that.

NASA researchers are studying “Mars-like” salt lakes in Western Australia in their hunt for extra-terrestrial life. Experts from the United States say the region, with its pink-hued water and distinctive trees, is more like Mars than almost any other location on Earth. The Yilgarn Craton is a vast mineral-rich region about 400 kilometers east of…