Mars Mission: Been there done that?

As featured in the February 2013 Edition of the Murfreesboro Pulse

Mission to Mars: Been there done that?

2013 will be a year in which a handful of bold explorers will launch expeditions to some of the most remote places on our planet. Yet no expedition to the heart of the African Congo or even the Antarctic can compare to what will be required to accomplish what the Mars One Project seeks to achieve by establishing a permanent colony on Mars. The project, started by Dutch entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp in 2011, intends to take space exploration to the next level by putting the first four colonists on Mars in 2023, sending four additional colonists every 2 years.

I have to confess my envy of those selected for this historical undertaking. But will this project really be man’s first endeavor to colonize Mars? The reason that I ask this seemingly ridiculous question is that there are a number of people who claim to have knowledge of a preexisting colony on the red planet and a secret space program unknown to the public. One such individual is the great-granddaughter of America’s 34^th president, Dwight D. Eisenhower who I interviewed in 2010. Laura Magdalena Eisenhower says that an agent working for a mysterious group called The Aviary pressured her to join a secret survival colony on Mars long before any official Mars projects by NASA or private firms. This secret group even threatened to kidnap her if she didn’t cooperate. Not creepy at all right?

Since my interview with Eisenhower, I’ve investigated information surrounding other claims about the existence of a secret colony on Mars and the reality of a secret space program unknown to the American public. Among those who corroborate her story of a cover-up, which has been labeled “Marsgate”, is Andrew Basiago, an attorney from Washington State who is the president of Project Pegasus and the Mars Anomaly Research Society and others who claim they were teleported to the colony during the 1980’s.

Let’s look at more evidence. In what was deemed by the Bush Administration as the “Biggest military computer hack of all time” Gary McKinnon, a hacker from Great Britain, says that he illegally viewed computer files pertaining to a project called “Solar Warden”. He claims to have viewed documents listing “Non-terrestrial officers” and even some detailing a fleet of 8 cigar–shaped mother ships and 43 scout ships operating under US Naval Network and Space Operations Command. In 2002 McKinnon was indicted on 7 counts of computer related crime, each carrying a 10 year prison sentence. However, efforts to extradite the hacker stalled. Some believe he wasn’t extradited because a trial might lead to subpoenas of Pentagon officials and exposure of classified information.

Now if you think the US government isn’t capable of keeping a project of this magnitude a secret, you are mistaken. The Manhattan Project was responsible for developing the first Atomic bomb during WWII, employed nearly 130,000 people at more than 30 sites and cost the equivalent of 25.8 billion dollars.

As we’ve seen with the Manhattan project, it wouldn’t be the first time massive scientific projects have been hidden from the public. It might also explain what appears to be a lack of progress in our manned space explorations and the reason for the reductions in funding for NASA programs by the current administration. If you are still skeptical, do your own research before dismissing any of this. There are literally hundreds of eye- witness testimonies which have been collected over the years by the Disclosure Project and other private efforts investigating alleged cover-ups and secret technologies. It’s my own belief that someday we’ll find out that our space travel capabilities are a lot more advanced than we are made to believe. Given the wholly uninspiring lack of progress that NASA has delivered over the past decade, I think we would all like to believe the American space program is secretly awesome.

As always, I encourage everyone to do their own research and seek the truth no matter what others tell you. Until next time, keep exploring!