I recently heard an interview on one of my favorite National Public Radio shows, Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, with Dr. Ellen Stofan. She is currently the Under Secretary for Science and Research at The Smithsonian Institute and was previously the Mars Director of the National Air and Space Museum. The “panelists,” who are comedians, were quizzing her with their space related questions. They asked, “did Matt Damon return from Mars?” and “did we really land on the moon?” along with other profound comedic questions.

She had an interesting response, after laughing off the inane, comic questions of th...