Shawcross, chief of the Science and Space Branch at the White House Office of Management and Budget, went on to argue that the various space projects the White House has launched are at least as cool as a Death Star. (Debatable.)

Anyone can post a petition on the "We the People" site, launched by the White House. If a petition gets 25,000 signatures, the administration will respond. Administration officials have answered demands that the government recognize extraterrestrial life, allow online poker, legalize marijuana, remove “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance and ban Rush Limbaugh from Armed Forces Network radio.

But many petitioners complain that the administration has issued boilerplate responses with little opportunity for follow-up. In this case, at least, the White House clearly gave an important issue the time and attention it deserved.