In 2002, NASA hired James Edward Oberg, to write a book intended to challenge those who claim the Apollo Moon landings were a hoax. Oberg was a former rocket scientist, MSNBC News space consultant and analyst and journalist, and, it was later discovered, a moon landing conspiracy theorist. But NASA soon cancelled the project, declining to give the reasons for this. NASA spokesman Bob Jacobs said criticism that NASA was displaying poor judgement and a lack of confidence in commissioning the book caused the agency to abort it. For example, then NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said: