Nexus - 0219 - New Times Magazine-pages

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THE MARS MISSION COVER-UP BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE great scientific experiment came to a climactic and frustrating end when, Ae 21st August 1993, communication with NASA's Mars Observer space- craft was reported lost after its successful completion of an eleven-month journey to the Red Planet.2 Just three days before it was to enter Mars orbit, but shortly after instructions for orbital insertion had been uploaded, the spacecraft mysteriously failed to respond to commands from the ground or to signal its pres- ence to its controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.. In the weeks following, repeated attempts to restore communications have been made. As of this writing, all efforts have failed. The newly This apparent tragedy, ending the first mission to Mars since the Viking probes of 1976, is part of a much larger story—a story of deception and scientific irrespon- released sibility designed to suppress or prevent what might be one of the greatest scientific " ° " discoveries in all of human history. With a replacement mission in the planning, a McDaniel Report very real possibility exists that the scenario that dominated the Mars Observer mis- sion may be repeated. This report chronicles the ongoing picture of scientific, ethi- clear ly sho AY tha t cal and political concem within which the Mars Observer mission took place, in the hope that the mistakes and distortions that plagued that mission will not be repeat- NASA does not Ta want the public to THE MARS OBSERVER SPACECRAFT The Mars Observer, launched 25th September 1992, was the first of an “Observer know too mu ch series" of missions for planetary exploration. The principal objective of the mis- b t th sion was to gather information on the geology and climate of Mars.’ Mars apou e Observer was scheduled to reach its destination in August 1993 and begin its "map- Q ping phase" by November 1993. The mapping phase was to last for one Martian myster ious year, or 687 days.‘ During this phase the Mars Observer camera would relay low- resolution photographs of the entire planet daily. It would also take moderate-reso- monumen ts of lution photographs (size of smallest visible objects 300 metres) and high-resolution M. ars photographs (size of smallest visible objects 11 and 1.4 metres) for the purpose of e securing geological and albedo (reflectivity) information on targeted areas of inter- est.’ The Mars Observer was reported "lost" by NASA on 21st August 1993, short- ly after instructions for orbital insertion had been sent to the spacecraft. At this writing, communication with the spacecraft has not been reestablished, and NASA is still attempting to overcome the problem. It is not known whether the Mars Observer has gone into orbit around Mars or has passed the planet and entered a solar orbit.* THE AOC HYPOTHESIS During the 1976 Viking mission to Mars, photographs of the planet were obtained at a 50-metre resolution.’ In the seventeen years since then independent The Mars Observer, launched 25th September 1992, was the first of an “Observer series" of missions for planetary exploration. The principal objective of the mis- sion was to gather information on the geology and climate of Mars.’ Mars Observer was scheduled to reach its destination in August 1993 and begin its "map- ping phase" by November 1993. The mapping phase was to last for one Martian year, or 687 days.‘ During this phase the Mars Observer camera would relay low- resolution photographs of the entire planet daily. It would also take moderate-reso- lution photographs (size of smallest visible objects 300 metres) and high-resolution photographs (size of smallest visible objects 11 and 1.4 metres) for the purpose of securing geological and albedo (reflectivity) information on targeted areas of inter- est.’ The Mars Observer was reported "lost" by NASA on 21st August 1993, short- ly after instructions for orbital insertion had been sent to the spacecraft. At this writing, communication with the spacecraft has not been reestablished, and NASA is still attempting to overcome the problem. It is not known whether the Mars Observer has gone into orbit around Mars or has passed the planet and entered a solar orbit.* During the 1976 Viking mission to Mars, photographs of the planet were obtained at a 50-metre resolution.’ In the seventeen years since then independent research groups have engaged in an exhaustive study of certain unusual surface fea- tures revealed in the Viking images, most of which are located in an area of Mars known as the Cydonia Plain. All of the independent researchers have concluded that the data supports the possibility that some features at Cydonia may be the ruins of intelligently designed structures. 1 will refer to the hypothesis that the Cydonia features may be of artificial origin as the AOC hypothesis (Artificial Origin at Cydonia). The AOC hypothesis does not claim that there is proof of artificial features on Mars; it claims that the probability of there being artificial features is strong enough to make new high-resolution photographs a top priority for any future mis- Extracted from THE McDANIEL REPORT by Stanley V. McDaniel 1005 West College Avenue, #273 Santa Rosa, CA 95401 USA NEXUS #33 APRIL - MAY 1994 BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE THE MARS OBSERVER SPACECRAFT THE AOC HYPOTHESIS