Because if NASA were faking then the university...what with all its scientists and stuff, might work it out.
A university doesn't really have scientists. It's all wrote lit and dogmatic memorization. There is no real introspection or analysis going on. It's just shoved down the throats of students effortlessly. Maybe graduate school might have the student find a niche unexplored topic to write a research paper on. But if the student attacked the very principles of mathematics, for example, he would immediately be ridiculed and glanced over without even looking at his body of work. Pure religion.
What the shit are you talking about? Almost ALL of the professors at my school hold PhDs. Especially the science professors. I guess they are all fake scientists, yet they hold higher degrees than you have.
Again, many universities are research institutions. Even though mine is not, that doesn't mean research is not conducted on a daily basis. My roommate, a physics undergrad, does research every day. Its required for not only undergrads, but grads as well.
We also have a huge refracting telescope that is available to all students. It is also used very frequently by the physics and astronomy departments for research.
No introspection or analysis? tell that to my roommate who spends countless hours in the lab researching atoms.