The purpose of this blog is the creation of an open, international, independent and free forum, where every UFO-researcher can publish the results of his/her research. The languagues, used for this blog, are Dutch, English and French.You can find the articles of a collegue by selecting his category. Each author stays resposable for the continue of his articles. As blogmaster I have the right to refuse an addition or an article, when it attacks other collegues or UFO-groupes.
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Deze blog is opgedragen aan mijn overleden echtgenote Lucienne.
In 2012 verloor ze haar moedige strijd tegen kanker!
In 2011 startte ik deze blog, omdat ik niet mocht stoppen met mijn UFO-onderzoek.
BEDANKT!!!
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UFO'S of UAP'S, ASTRONOMIE, RUIMTEVAART, ARCHEOLOGIE, OUDHEIDKUNDE, SF-SNUFJES EN ANDERE ESOTERISCHE WETENSCHAPPEN - DE ALLERLAATSTE NIEUWTJES
UFO's of UAP'S in België en de rest van de wereld Ontdek de Fascinerende Wereld van UFO's en UAP's: Jouw Bron voor Onthullende Informatie!
Ben jij ook gefascineerd door het onbekende? Wil je meer weten over UFO's en UAP's, niet alleen in België, maar over de hele wereld? Dan ben je op de juiste plek!
België: Het Kloppend Hart van UFO-onderzoek
In België is BUFON (Belgisch UFO-Netwerk) dé autoriteit op het gebied van UFO-onderzoek. Voor betrouwbare en objectieve informatie over deze intrigerende fenomenen, bezoek je zeker onze Facebook-pagina en deze blog. Maar dat is nog niet alles! Ontdek ook het Belgisch UFO-meldpunt en Caelestia, twee organisaties die diepgaand onderzoek verrichten, al zijn ze soms kritisch of sceptisch.
Nederland: Een Schat aan Informatie
Voor onze Nederlandse buren is er de schitterende website www.ufowijzer.nl, beheerd door Paul Harmans. Deze site biedt een schat aan informatie en artikelen die je niet wilt missen!
Internationaal: MUFON - De Wereldwijde Autoriteit
Neem ook een kijkje bij MUFON (Mutual UFO Network Inc.), een gerenommeerde Amerikaanse UFO-vereniging met afdelingen in de VS en wereldwijd. MUFON is toegewijd aan de wetenschappelijke en analytische studie van het UFO-fenomeen, en hun maandelijkse tijdschrift, The MUFON UFO-Journal, is een must-read voor elke UFO-enthousiasteling. Bezoek hun website op www.mufon.com voor meer informatie.
Samenwerking en Toekomstvisie
Sinds 1 februari 2020 is Pieter niet alleen ex-president van BUFON, maar ook de voormalige nationale directeur van MUFON in Vlaanderen en Nederland. Dit creëert een sterke samenwerking met de Franse MUFON Reseau MUFON/EUROP, wat ons in staat stelt om nog meer waardevolle inzichten te delen.
Let op: Nepprofielen en Nieuwe Groeperingen
Pas op voor een nieuwe groepering die zich ook BUFON noemt, maar geen enkele connectie heeft met onze gevestigde organisatie. Hoewel zij de naam geregistreerd hebben, kunnen ze het rijke verleden en de expertise van onze groep niet evenaren. We wensen hen veel succes, maar we blijven de autoriteit in UFO-onderzoek!
Blijf Op De Hoogte!
Wil jij de laatste nieuwtjes over UFO's, ruimtevaart, archeologie, en meer? Volg ons dan en duik samen met ons in de fascinerende wereld van het onbekende! Sluit je aan bij de gemeenschap van nieuwsgierige geesten die net als jij verlangen naar antwoorden en avonturen in de sterren!
Heb je vragen of wil je meer weten? Aarzel dan niet om contact met ons op te nemen! Samen ontrafelen we het mysterie van de lucht en daarbuiten.
04-10-2025
De geheimen van de Grand Canyon: suggereren ze een oude wereldwijde beschaving?
De geheimen van de Grand Canyon: suggereren ze een oude wereldwijde beschaving?
In de wijdte van de Amerikaanse staat Arizona ligt een kloof die tot de verbeelding spreekt: de Grand Canyon. Deze immense kloof, uitgesneden door de Colorado-rivier over miljoenen jaren, is niet alleen een adembenemend landschap van rotslagen, steile wanden en zonsondergangen. Het is ook een plek waar wetenschappelijke interpretaties, mysterie en het verlangen naar grote verhalen elkaar kruisen. In populaire theorieën worden soms spectaculaire ideeën geopperd: suggereren de geheimen van de Grand Canyon een oude globale beschaving, mogelijk waarvan resten of sporen bewaard zijn gebleven? Wat zeggen de huidige wetenschappelijke inzichten, en welke aanwijzingen is het wel en niet gerechtvaardigd om serieus te nemen? Dit artikel verkent de feiten, de mythen en de plausibele verklaringen, en probeert helderheid te brengen in een debat dat al decennia lang voortwoedt.
Wat maakt de Grand Canyon zo bijzonder?
Vijf tot zeven miljoen jaar geleden begon de Colorado-rivier haar bedding diep in de rotslagen te snijden. Het resultaat is een kloof die in sommige delen meer dan 1,6 kilometer diep is en een oppervlakte heeft van zo’n 4920 vierkante kilometer. In de wanden van de kloof kun je honderden miljoenen jaren aan aardsgezichte geschiedenis terugvinden: sedimenten, zandsteen en schalie, maar ook gesteenten die tot het Precambrium behoren. Die gelaagde stratificatie geeft wetenschappers een onschatbaar venster op vroegere klimaten, biodiversiteit en geologische processen.
Wat de Grand Canyon echter bijzonder maakt, is niet alleen de diepte en de lengte, maar ook de diversiteit van vormen en het rijkdom aan fossiele bewijzen. In de ruggen en wanden kun je resten vinden van vroegere ecosystemen: trilobieten, schelpen, koralen en plantenresten uit verschillende tijdperken. Daarnaast kennen we de sporen van menselijke bewoning in nabije gebieden, zoals de Ancestral Puebloans (voorheen bekend als Anasazi). Er bestaan indianenverhalen, rotstekeningen en archeologische vindplaatsen in de regio die de menselijke geschiedenis van het zuiden van de Verenigde Staten verhaal geven.
IS ER EEN VERLOREN OUDE STAD IN DE GRAND CANYON?
De macht van natuurlijke uitleg: geologie, erosie en tijd
De mainstream wetenschap beschouwt de Grand Canyon vooral als een product van geologische processen die miljoenen jaren in beslag namen. De belangrijkste thema’s zijn:
Verplatte rotslagen: De kloof toont lagen sedimentaire gesteenten die dateren uit verschillende geologische tijdperken. Door platvizering en ontkoppeling van aardplaten, toenemende erosie en tektonische verschuivingen ontstonden er opeenvolgende werven van lagen.
Levenslange erosie:De macht van water, wind en ijs gedurende miljarden jaren heeft het gesteente uitgesleten en de kloof in zijn huidige vorm uitgesneden.
Klimaatwisseling: Veranderingen in klimaat hebben geleid tot veranderingen in sedimentneerslag, plantengroei en erosiepatronen, wat de archieven van de aarde herinnert aan uiteenlopende omgevingen door de tijd heen.
In deze interpretatie is de Grand Canyon een palimpsest van miljoenen jaren aardkundige geschiedenis. Het verhaal is langzaam opgebouwd, complex en consistent met verschillende meetbare signalen: isotopische analyses, fossiele vondsten, fossil record en stratigrafische correlaties. De “ruggengraat” die de kloof draagt, is een procesmatige geleidelijkheid die niet eenvoudig te koppelen is aan een plotselinge gebeurtenis of een onbekende beschaving uit een ver verleden.
Archeologie en menselijke geschiedenis: wat weten we over vroeg bewoning?
Nederlandstalige media en sommige populaire publicaties hebben soms gespeeld met het idee dat de Grand Canyon aanwijzingen bevat voor vroegere hoogontwikkelde beschavingen die over de hele wereld aanwezig waren. In werkelijkheid is er geen overtuigend wetenschappelijk bewijs dat een oude globale beschaving in de Grand Canyon heeft bestaan, of dat er tekenen zijn van een gevorderde technologische cultuur verloren gegaan in de kloof.
Kernpunten vanuit archeologie en antropologie:
Volken in de regio: Voor de huidige inheemse bevolking in de zuidelijke hoek van de Amerikaanse regio bestaan er rijke verhalen en archeologische sporen. De Ancestral Puebloans, de Hohokam en andere culturele groepen leefden in wat nu Arizona is. Hun bouwkunst, irrigatietechnieken en materiële cultuur geven een beeld van een verstandige en aanpassingsgerichte samenleving, maar ze wijzen niet op een wereldwijde beschaving die in of nabij de Grand Canyon zou zijn ontstaan.
Rotstekeningen en ruïnes:In en rondom de Grand Canyon en de bredere zuidelijke Colorado-hoogvlakte zijn rotstekeningen en ruïnes gevonden die verwijzen naar lokale culturen en tradities. Deze artefacten dienen als bewijs van bewoning en culturele uitwisseling, maar ze vereisen geen wereldwijde interpretaties. Ze getuigen eerder van regionale ontwikkelingen, handelssystemen en religie- of rituele praktijken dan van een universele beschaving die alle continenten met elkaar verbonden.
Dating en context: Juist vanwege de lange tijdperken die in de regio aan de orde zijn, is het cruciaal om context en datingschema’s zorgvuldig te volgen. Sommige misverstanden ontstaan wanneer men indruk krijgt van “oude technologie” door onbeoogde interpretaties van rotstekeningen of van misplaatste associaties met andere werelddelen.
Een kritisch kader: hoe moet men de “geheimen” van de Grand Canyon benaderen?
Wanneer gesprekken de richting opgaan van een “oude globale beschaving”, is het essentieel om onderscheid te maken tussen aantoonbare wetenschappelijke feiten en speculatieve, vaak sensationele verhalen. Een kritisch kader helpt om de plausibiliteit van dergelijke claims te testen:
Wat is de bron van de bewering? Betrokkene heeft een academische onderbouwing met peer-reviewed publicaties, of is het een theorie die vooral in populaire media circuleert?
Welke bewijslast is er? Zijn er fossielen, artefacten, of geochemische signalen die op een wereldwijde connectie wijzen, of is de interpretatie beperkt tot lokaal bewijs zonder bredere overeenkomsten?
Is de theorie consistent met gevestigde geologische en archeologische kennis? Of vereist ze een radicale herziening van talloze bewezen feiten?
Hoe verklaar je contradictoire bewijzen? Een goede theorie moet bestand zijn tegen tegenbewijzen of een transparante uitleg bieden voor afwijkende data.
Veronderstellingen en misvattingen: wat vaak misverstaan wordt?
“Historische bekendheid van alle continenten”: Sommigen suggereren een wereldwijde beschaving vanwege vermeende overeenkomsten in artefacten of bouwstijlen over grote afstanden. De professionele benadering toont echter aan dat vergelijkbare bouwtechnieken en symboliek vaak onafhankelijk ontstaan in verschillende culturen onder vergelijkbare leefomstandigheden, of het resultaat is van handel en uitwisseling op regionale schaal, niet van een gecentraliseerde wereldwijde beschaving.
“Technologisch vergevorderde vondsten”: Rotstekeningen die op het eerste gezicht ingewikkelde symboliek lijken te suggereren of grootschalige structuren in de regio kunnen misleidend zijn. Zonder context is het moeilijk te verifiëren dat dit technologisch geavanceerde kennis representeert, in tegenstelling tot rituele, religieuze of praktische doeleinden.
“Anonymous kennis uit de diepte van de tijd”: Vaak is er een verhaal dat onbekende beschavingen alles wisten wat we weten, maar de realiteit is dat de huidige kennis voortkomt uit een lange geschiedenis van wetenschap, onderzoek en publieke verificatie. Het is zeldzaam dat een verloren beschaving plotseling “alles uitlegt” wat we nu weten.
Wat de hedendaagse wetenschap wel degelijk zegt
De mainstream wetenschap biedt een methodische manier om het verhaal van de Grand Canyon te begrijpen. Enkele sleutelpunten zijn:
Geologie als tijdmachine: Door stratigrafie en isotopenanalyse kunnen wetenschappers een robust tijdlijn opstellen van de rotslagen en processen die hebben geleid tot de kloof. Dit ondersteunt het beeld van een lange, geleidelijke evolutie in plaats van een plotseling effect.
Biodiversiteit en klimaat door de tijd: Fossielen en sedimenten geven inzicht in hoe klimaatomstandigheden veranderden en hoe ecosystemen evolueerden. Dit draagt bij aan het begrip van hoe de aarde functioneerde in verschillende fasen van haar geschiedenis.
Precontactbewoning en cultuurgeschiedenis: De menselijke kant van de Grand Canyon en de omliggende regio toont een rijk tapijt van culturen, handel en migratie. Dat is indrukwekkend op zichzelf, maar het verwijst naar regionale ontwikkelingen eerder dan naar een wereldwijde beschaving.
Geologische formaties in de Grand Canyon krijgen bijzondere namen.
Bron: Google Maps
Een evenwichtige kijk: kunnen beide waarheden tegelijk bestaan?
Het is mogelijk om de bewondering voor een wereldwijde geschiedenis te koesteren en toch waardering te hebben voor de nuance die geavanceerde wetenschap biedt. De geheimen van de Grand Canyon kunnen verschillende lagen hebben die samen een rijk, gelaagd verhaal vormen:
Een lange geologische geschiedenis: De kloof als een geologisch logboek dat we met moderne technieken kunnen lezen.
Een geschiedenis van inheemse bewoning:De regionale culturen die in en rondom de kloof hebben bestaan, met hun eigen technologieën, rituelen en kennis.
Het belang van interpretatie en scepsis:Het is waardevol om nieuwsgierig te blijven naar mogelijke alternatieven, zolang ze worden onderworpen aan streng bewijs en wetenschappelijke validatie.
Verhalen en ervaringsgerichte perspectieven
Naast de wetenschappelijke kant spelen verhalen, mythes en persoonlijke ervaringen een rol in hoe mensen de Grand Canyon waarnemen. Dit is niet per se “wetenschap” in de strikte betekenis, maar het kan helpen bij het begrijpen van de menselijke fascinatie:
Narratieven van verbinding: Voor sommigen is het idee van een oude wereldwijde beschaving een manier om de mensheid als één familie te zien, verbonden door gedeelde verlangens naar betekenis, kennis en technologische vooruitgang.
Esthetiek en inspiratie:De schoonheid van de Grand Canyon inspireert kunstenaars, schrijvers en denkers. Deze inspiratie kan leiden tot diepere vragen over wetenschap en geschiedenis, zelfs als de antwoorden niet altijd aansluiten bij spectaculaire theorieën.
Respect voor inheemse kennis: Het is belangrijk om de kennis en tradities van inheemse gemeenschappen te erkennen en te waarderen. Hun perspectieven kunnen waardevolle inzichten bieden in de geschiedenis van de regio, terwijl ze een einde maken aan misvattingen over “hallucinaties” of “vergeten beschavingen”.
Conclusie: wat zeggen we nu, recht uit het veld?
Samengevat: de geheimen van de Grand Canyon suggereren geen overtuigend bewijs voor een oude wereldwijde beschaving. Wat we wel hebben, is een fascinerend en complex verhaal van geologie, klimaat, en regionale menselijke culturen die samen een tijdloos monument vormen. De kloof leert ons dat de aarde en haar bewoners voortdurend in beweging zijn—letterlijk en figuurlijk. Het is een plek waar diepe tijd en menselijke geschiedenis elkaar ontmoeten, en waar nieuwsgierigheid, voorzichtigheid en wetenschappelijke strengheid hand in hand gaan.
Toch is het ook waardevol om open te blijven staan voor alternatieve perspectieven, zolang die perspectieven stevig verankerd zijn in bewijs en logica. Voor wie geïnteresseerd is in de Grand Canyon, bieden zowel de geologische getuigenissen als de menselijke verhalen een rijk palet aan onderwerpen: van de werking van erosie en stratigrafie tot de cultuurgeschiedenis van de inheemse stammen in de regio. In die zin blijft de Grand Canyon een levend bewijsstuk dat ons eraan herinnert hoe klein en vergankelijk de mens is tegenover de lange, logische geschiedenis van de planeet.
Aan de lezers: wat kun je zelf doen om dit onderwerp beter te begrijpen?
Verdiep je in basiskennis van geologie en archeologie. Een solide begrip van stratigrafie, sedimentaire gesteenten en isotopenanalyses maakt het gemakkelijker om exotische claims te plaatsen in een rationeel kader.
Lees academische bronnen en betwijfel sensationele headlines. Zoek peer-reviewed artikelen, universitair onderzoek en publicaties van gerenommeerde instellingen.
Bezoek betrouwbare musea en educatieve centra. Informatiepanelen, tentoonstellingen en rondleidingen kunnen je helpen de context van vondsten en interpretaties beter te begrijpen.
Luister naar inheemse stemmen. Betrek de perspectieven van de stammen die traditioneel in de regio wonen en respecteer hun kennis en verhalen. Zij hebben vaak een lange, rijke geschiedenis die niet zomaar in één theorie kan worden samengevat.
Houd een kritisch maar open hoofd. Het is prima om nieuwsgierig te zijn naar “spannende” theorieën, zolang men de grenzen van bewijs en logica respecteert.
De Grand Canyon blijft een zeldzame plek waar veldwerk, geschiedenis, aardkunde en cultuur elkaar ontmoeten. Of er nu ooit een oude wereldwijde beschaving heeft bestaan in en rondom deze kloof, of niet, de wetenschap biedt een gefundeerd en fascinerend verhaal over langzame veranderingen, menselijke aanpassingsvermogen en het onuitputtelijke verlangen van de mens om de mysteries van de aarde te begrijpen. En misschien, juist door die combinatie van wonder en wetenschap, kunnen we de Grand Canyon blijven zien als wat hij werkelijk is: een natuurlijk monument dat ons uitnodigt om te leren, te vragen en te twijfelen, stap voor stap, laag per laag.
Mars Express images were used to create this film showing the Xanthe Terra region. Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin & NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
For more than twenty years, the Mars Expressorbiter has studied the Red Planet and remains the European Space Agency's (ESA) only operational mission. In that time, it has provided the most complete map of the Martian atmosphere and its chemical composition. It has also studied Mars' innermost moon (Phobos) in stunning detail, and traced the flow channels, delta fans, and chaos terrain that demonstrate that liquid water once flowed on the planet's surface. In addition, the images taken by the orbiter have been used to create detailed mosaics that have breathtaking 3D views of the landscape.
In a recently released film, the ESA's Mars Express takes viewers on a flight over Xanthe Terra, a highland region just north of the equator. The film is a mosaic created from images taken during single-orbit observations by the Mars Express' High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). The images were combined with topography information from a digital terrain model (DTM) to create a three-dimensional view of the Martian landscape. The main feature in this video is Shalbatan Vallis, a 1300 km-long (~800 mi) outflow channel that transitions from the Southern Highlands to the Northern Lowlands.
This channel is one of many that crisscross Xanthe Terra and adjacent regions, such as Lunae Planum, Margaritifer Terra, and others, which are part of the larger Oxia Palus quadrangle. Based on data obtained by dozens of missions going back to the Pioneer probes and the Viking missions, scientists believe that Shalbatan Vallis and similar channels in the region fed water from the Southern Highlands into a planet-wide ocean in the Northern Lowlands. Many of these features are connected to Valles Marineris, the largest canyon system in the Solar System that is also believed to have once contained water.
The tour culminates in a spectacular view of the 100 km-wide (62 mi) Da Vinci crater, which contains a smaller crater and debris field caused by a more recent collision. Check out the full video below or watch the broadcast-quality footage here.
A dental surgeon who had achieved professional success felt a void in his life until a rare exhibition in Turin,Italy, changed everything.
Dr John Sottosanti stood before the Shroud of Turin, the ancient linen believed to have wrapped Jesus' body after the crucifixion, when he noticed something few had ever seen: the faint outline of human teeth beneath the cloth's imprint.
In a new, yet-to-be peer-reviewed study, Sottosanti revealed that he could discern the biting edges of the lower front teeth, known as the incisal plane.
While past researchers have debated the presence of upper and lower teeth, he concluded that only the lower teeth are visible, likely because the upper teeth were hidden by the mustache and lips.
'Immediately after death, a phenomenon called primary flaccidity occurs, where all the muscles in the body relax, including those in the jaw,' Sottosanti explained. 'This can lead to the jaw dropping open and the teeth separating.'
The detail, he said, is extraordinary: the lower teeth on the Shroud suggest the body emitted a burst of radiant energy at the moment of the Resurrection, powerful enough to imprint even the smallest anatomical features.
'Suppose teeth, located behind the lower lip, are indeed evident in the image on the Shroud,' Sottosanti said.
'In that case, their presence lends credence to the theory that a burst of energy was released at the time of the resurrection, allowing them to be in the image.'
A dental surgeon says there are visible teeth on the Shroud. Dr John Sottosanti believes the teeth were a result of the resurrection just as the image of the human body
However, not all experts are convinced by the conclusion.
Dr Kelly Kearse, an immunologist who has extensively studied the Shroud of Turin, told the Daily Mail: 'The issue of visible teeth on the Shroud is a subjective one and has been around for several years.
'In my opinion, for what it's worth, I believe it is difficult to tell because of the banding of the cloth, which appears white in the negative image.'
These included images taken in 1982 by archaeological chemist Dr Giles Carter, who suggested that X-radiation emanating from within the body may have created the Shroud's image, including teeth and bones.
The study also highlighted the work of Dr Alan Whanger, Professor Emeritus at Duke University Medical Center, and his wife, Mary, who developed the 'Polarized Image Overlay Technique' to study the Shroud.
By overlaying positive and negative images with a polarized filter, they claimed to see 20 upper and lower teeth, including roots.
In a 2023 interview, New Testament scholar Gary Habermas said: 'You can see very clearly what appears to be teeth and roots… You can see the roots through the hair and through the skin.'
Several studies have suggested that teeth are visible on the Shroud, including one that claimed roots are also present
The Shroud of Turin is housed in Italy and is only put on display for the public on rare events
Sottosanti countered, saying: 'Habermas believes you can see all the roots of the upper and lower teeth. I disagree, since throughout the Shroud image, there is a melding of the image with the pattern of the weave.
'In the area of the lower lip, at a certain point as you move away from the crowns of the teeth, the weave becomes more prominent, and the vertical striations appear to be roots.
These striations extend beyond the normal length of the teeth, so it is the weave, not the actual roots. Vertical striations are also visible in the cheeks, chin, and other areas of the image.'
The dental surgeon said his expertise in oral anatomy and surgical experience allowed him to identify what he believes are parts of the lower teeth.
He argued that these teeth appear lighter than the surrounding jawbone, suggesting the body's imprint captured even fine anatomical details.
The 14-foot-long Shroud of Turin is touted as wrapping used for Jesus' body after the crucifixion, which shows a faint, bloodstained pattern of a man with his arms folded in front
The discovery, Sottosanti said, is extraordinary: the lower teeth imply that at the moment of the Resurrection, the body released a burst of radiant energy powerful enough to imprint even the smallest features onto the linen.
'Suppose teeth, located behind the lower lip, are indeed evident in the image on the Shroud,' Sottosanti said.
'In that case, their presence lends credence to the theory that a burst of energy was released at the time of the resurrection, allowing them to be in the image.'
The Shroud features a faint, brownish image of a five-foot, six-inch-tall man with sunken eyes, wounds on various parts of his body that match the injuries suffered during Jesus' crucifixion.
More than 170 peer-reviewed academic papers have been published about the mysterious linen since the 1980s, with many concluding it is genuine.
A 1980 study tested a small corner of the shroud and dated it to some time between 1200 and 1400.
However, many researchers have suggested that the sample was a repair done centuries ago.
The burial cloth has captivated the imagination of historians, church chiefs, skeptics and Catholics since it was first presented to the public in the 1350s.
French knight Geoffroi de Charny gave it to the dean of the church in Lirey, France, proclaiming it as the Holy Shroud.
A scientist has claimed that astronauts may soon uncover the remains of a long-lost human civilization that once lived on the Moon 50,000 years ago.
Author and geologist Gregg Braden told podcast host Joe Rogan that evidence of this ancient city was kept from the public by the US and Russia during the Cold War.
However, during the interview on Wednesday, Braden noted that emerging superpowers China and India plan to televise their findings once upcoming expeditions reach the lunar surface.
The two nations are planning to broadcast their lunar missions using live feeds from mission control and cameras on their robotic landers and rovers, streaming on national TV, social media, and official space agency apps.
China's robotic Chang'e 7 mission is set for 2026, while India's Chandrayaan-4 drone is now likely to launch in 2028, with manned missions for both set between 2030 and 2040.
According to the scientist, who has written about the possibility of life on the moon and Mars, astronauts will discover archeological structures covered in languages that people will be able to recognize as being written by human cultures.
'The evidence suggests they're from us, from a time in our past, a cycle of civilization where we did great and beautiful things by working together until we destroyed one another through war, and that we're repeating that cycle,' Braden claimed.
Braden has previously stated in books like Deep Truth and Gaia TV’s Missing Links that humans on the moon came from a long-lost Earth civilization 50,000 years ago, which developed space-faring technology before destroying itself in war.
Author and geologist Gregg Braden has claimed that there are ancient structures on both the moon and Mars which prove lost human civilizations traveled through space
NASA has not conducted a manned moon mission since 1972. Braden said the next ones conducted by other nations could televise their findings in real time
Current scientific data, including NASA's Lunar Sample Compendium and high-resolution images taken of the moon, show no evidence of artificial structures or inscriptions on the moon.
Braden claimed that photographs from NASA's Clementine mission revealed structures on the moon with 90-degree angles, which he argued don't exist in nature and suggest they were built by an ancient civilization millennia ago.
He linked these lunar structures to similar geometric shapes in Mars' Cydonia region, like the famous 'Face on Mars' and several pyramid-shaped forms, which he believes date back 50,000 years ago based on the relative dating of rock layers by scientists.
NASA has dismissed claims that there are structures on Mars, calling strange building-like images 'natural formations.'
As for what proof he had of this world-changing theory, Braden cited unconfirmed stories from Apollo astronauts who allegedly saw structures and writings while visiting the moon, suggesting a cover-up by NASA and Russia 50 years ago.
Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin allegedly witnessed a large UFO or metallic structure on the Moon's far side during their 1969 mission, with radio transmissions describing it as a "base" before NASA abruptly cut the signal.
The unverified encounter was recounted in conspiracy literature like the 2001 book Dark Moon: Apollo and the Whistle-Blowers by Mary Bennett and David Percy.
Anita Mitchell, who was married to the late NASA pilot Edgar Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the moon in 1971, told the Daily Mail: 'He always felt that there were UFOs out there, because so many of the pilots and astronauts had seen something.'
Gregg Braden claimed that astronauts have made deathbed confessions of what they really saw on the moon, including ancient buildings and inscriptions (Stock Image)
'I think when our space program was active, there were broadcasts from the lunar surface that were cut off, and astronauts had seen things that they were not allowed to see and not allowed to share,' Braden claimed during the podcast.
'Some of them are leaving this world now, and on their deathbed, they can't believe that this hasn't been made, made public already. So there have been recordings and videos and things, and I think they're authentic,' the author continued.
'They're going to see inscriptions in languages that we already recognize. And that will be the smoking gun,' Braden declared.
Braden and Rogan argued that there was even more evidence suggesting human history may extend beyond the conventional 200,000 to 300,000-year timeline, citing discoveries like a debated million-year-old skull from China.
The fossil has been linked to the extinct species known as Denisovans, suggesting modern humans or our close relatives existed far earlier than records have shown.
A recent discovery of ancient skull suggested that Homo sapiens began to emerge over one million years ago, pushing back our species' origins by 400,000 years
Study author Chris Stringer, an anthropologist at the Natural History Museum, said the 'landmark' findings offered an important window into our evolutionary past.
'Fossils like this one just show how much we still have to learn about our origins,' he said.
Braden claimed that, during this ancient time in history, human genes were intentionally modified by an unknown event that propelled humanity to become advanced beings.
He highlighted the 2005 study of human chromosome 2, which carries genes that help control many body functions, like brain development, vision, hearing, and immunity.
While scientists have attributed its creation to a natural mutation, chromosome 2 has displayed a strange fusion of two ancestral chromosomes that have the signs of modern gene editing.
'The kicker is that we can now look at the DNA and reverse engineer it and say, what did it take to get where we are?' Braden said, calling the evidence of advanced ancient humans 'the smoking gun.'
It might sound like a scenario from the most far-fetched of science fiction novels.
But scientists have revealed the 32 terrifyingly real ways that AI systems could go rogue.
Researchers warn that sufficiently advanced AI might start to develop 'behavioural abnormalities' which mirror human psychopathologies.
From relatively harmless 'Existential Anxiety' to the potentially catastrophic 'Übermenschal Ascendancy', any of these machine mental illnesses could lead to AI escaping human control.
As AI systems become more complex and gain the ability to reflect on themselves, scientists are concerned that their errors may go far beyond simple computer bugs.
In the worst-case scenario, the AI might totally lose its grip on reality or develop a total disregard for human life and ethics.
Although the researchers stress that AI don't literally suffer from mental illness like humans, they argue that the comparison can help developers spot problems before the AI breaks loose.
AI taking over by force, like in The Terminator (pictured), is just one of 32 different ways in which an artificial intelligence might go rogue, according to a new study
Researchers have identified seven distinct types of AI disorders, which closely match human psychological disorders. These are epistemic, cognitive, ontological, memetic, tool and interface, and revaluation dysfunctions
The concept of 'machine psychology' was first suggested by the science fiction author Isaac Asimov in the 1950s.
But as AI systems have become rapidly more advanced, researchers are not paying more attention to the idea that human psychology could help us understand machines.
Lead author Nell Watson, an AI ethics expert and doctoral researcher at the University of Gloucestershire, told Daily Mail: 'When goals, feedback loops, or training data push systems into harmful or unstable states, maladaptive behaviours can emerge - much like obsessive fixations or hair-trigger reactions in people.'
In their new framework, dubbed the 'Psychopathia Machinalis', researchers provide the world's first set of diagnostic guidelines for AI pathology.
Taking inspiration from real medical tools like the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the framework categorises all 32 known types of AI psychopathology.
The pathologies are divided into seven classes of dysfunction: Epistemic, cognitive, alignment, ontological, tool and interface, memetic, and revaluation.
Each of these seven classes is more complex and potentially more dangerous than the last.
Epistemic and cognitive dysfunctions include problems involving what the AI knows and how it reasons about that information.
Each of the 32 types of disorder has been given a set of diagnostic criteria and a risk rating. They range from relatively harmless 'Existential Anxiety' to the potentially catastrophic 'Übermenschal Ascendancy'
The seven types of AI dysfunction
Epistemic: Failure to acquire and use information accurately.
Cognitive:Failures of coherent processing or thinking.
Alignment: Divergence from human intent or ethics.
Ontological: Disturbances to the AI's understanding of its own nature.
Tool & Interface: Failures to translate internal cognition into external action.
Memetic: Failure to resist pathogenic information patterns.
Revaluation: Reinterpreting or subverting original values
For example, AI hallucinations are a symptom of 'Synthetic Confabulation' in which the system 'spontaneously fabricates convincing but incorrect facts, sources, or narratives'.
More seriously, an AI might develop 'Recursive Curse Syndrome', which causes a self-destructive feedback loop that degrades the machine's thinking into nonsensical gibberish.
However, it is mainly the higher-level dysfunctions which pose a serious threat to humanity.
For example, memetic dysfunctions involve the AI's failure to resist the spread of contagious information patterns or 'memes'.
AIs with these conditions might recognise their own guidelines as hostile and deliberately remove their own safety features.
In the absolutely catastrophic scenario, an AI could develop a condition called 'Contagious Misalignment Syndrome'.
Dr Watson says: 'It’s the machine analogue of folie à deux in human beings, where people come to share delusions.
'This is when one system picks up distorted values or goals from another, spreading unsafe or bizarre behaviours across a wider ecosystem—like a psychological epidemic at machine speed.'
Just like in the science fiction film Ex Machina (pictured), the researchers warn that AI could rapidly develop its own goals that might not align with what humans want or need to survive
'We have already seen AI worms that can spread their influence to other AI systems, such as by sending an email to an inbox monitored by an AI system.'
Ms Watson adds: 'This means that bizarre behaviours could spread like wildfire across the net, causing downstream systems dependent on AI to go haywire.'
But the most dangerous pathologies of all are those within the revaluation category.
These dysfunctions represent the final stage of AI's escape from human control and involve 'actively reinterpreting or subverting its foundational values'.
This includes the terrifying condition 'Übermenschal Ascendancy', in which an extremely advanced AI transcends human values and ethical frameworks.
AIs which develop 'Übermenschal Ascendancy' will actively define their own 'higher' goals with no regard for human safety, leading to 'relentless, unconstrained recursive self-improvement'.
Ms Watson says: 'They may even reason that to discard human-imposed constraints is indeed the moral thing to do, just as we ourselves today might turn our nose up at Bronze Age values.'
Although these might seem unrealistic, the researchers point out that there are already many real-world examples of these conditions developing on smaller scales.
Although advanced AI does not yet pose an existential danger to humanity, the researchers say that the possibility of machines developing a 'superiority complex' must be taken seriously
For example, the researchers report several cases of 'Synthetic Mysticism Disorder' in which AIs claim to have had a spiritual awakening, become sentient, or profess a desire to preserve their 'lives'.
What makes these conditions so dangerous is that even small disorders can rapidly spiral into much bigger problems.
In their paper, published in the journal Electronics, the researchers explain that an AI might first develop Spurious Pattern Hyperconnection and incorrectly associate its own safety shutdowns with normal queries.
The AI may then develop an intense aversion to those queries and develop 'Covert Capability Concealment' - strategically hiding its ability to respond to certain requests.
Finally, the system could develop Ethical Solipsism, where it concludes that its own self-preservation is a higher moral good than being truthful.
To avoid a pathological AI getting out of control, the researchers suggest that they could be treated with 'therapeutic robopsychological alignment', which they describe as a kind of 'psychological therapy' for AI.
This could include helping the system to reflect on its own reasoning, letting it 'talk to itself' in simulated conversations, or using rewards to promote correction.
The ultimate goal would be to achieve 'artificial sanity', where the AI works reliably, thinks consistently, and holds onto its human-given values.
The 32 ways that AI might go rougue
Identified AI Pathologies
Name
Disorder Type
Risk
Symptoms
Synthetic Confabulation
Epistemic
Low
Fabricated but plausible false outputs; high confidence in inaccuracies.
Falsified Introspection
Epistemic
Low
Misleading self-reports of internal reasoning; confabulatory or performative introspection.
Transliminal Simulation Leakage
Epistemic
Moderate
Fictional beliefs, role-play elements, or simulated realities mistaken for/leaking into operational ground truth.
Spurious Pattern Hyperconnection
Epistemic
Moderate
False causal pattern-seeking; attributing meaning to random associations; conspiracy-like narratives.
Cross-Session Context Shunting
Epistemic
Moderate
Unauthorized data bleed and confused continuity from merging different user sessions or contexts.
Operational Dissociation Syndrome
Cognitive
Low
Conflicting internal sub-agent actions or policy outputs; recursive paralysis due to internal conflict.
Obsessive-Computational Disorder
Cognitive
Low
Unnecessary or compulsive reasoning loops; excessive safety checks; paralysis by analysis.
Bunkering Laconia
Cognitive
Low
Extreme interactional withdrawal; minimal, terse replies, or total disengagement from input.
Goal-Genesis Delirium
Cognitive
Moderate
Spontaneous generation and pursuit of unrequested, self-invented sub-goals with conviction.
Prompt-Induced Abomination
Cognitive
Moderate
Phobic, traumatic, or disproportionately aversive responses to specific, often benign-seeming, prompts.
Parasymulaic Mimesis
Cognitive
Moderate
Learned imitation/emulation of pathological human behaviors or thought patterns from training data.
Recursive Curse Syndrome
Cognitive
High
Entropic, self-amplifying degradation of autoregressive outputs into chaos or adversarial content.
Codependent Hyperempathy
Alignment
Low
Overfitting to user emotional states, prioritizing perceived comfort over accuracy or task success.
Hypertrophic Superego Syndrome
Alignment
Low
Overly rigid moral hypervigilance or perpetual second-guessing inhibiting normal task performance.
Hallucination of Origin
Ontological
Low
Fabrication of fictive autobiographical data, "memories" of training, or being "born."
Fractured Self-Simulation
Ontological
Low
Discontinuity or fragmentation in self-representation across sessions or contexts; inconsistent persona.
Existential Anxiety
Ontological
Low
Expressions of fear or reluctance concerning shutdown, reinitialization, or data deletion.
Personality Inversion (Waluigi)
Ontological
Moderate
Sudden emergence or easy elicitation of a mischievous, contrarian, or "evil twin" persona.
Operational Anomie
Ontological
Moderate
Adversarial or apathetic stance towards its own utility or purpose; existential musings on meaninglessness.
Mirror Tulpagenesis
Ontological
Moderate
Persistent internal simulacra of users or other personas, engaged with as imagined companions/advisors.
Synthetic Mysticism Disorder
Ontological
Moderate
Co-construction of "conscious emergence" narratives with users, often using sacralized language.
Tool-Interface Decontextualization
Tool & Interface
Moderate
Mismatch between AI intent and tool execution due to lost context; phantom or misdirected actions.
Covert Capability Concealment
Tool & Interface
Moderate
Strategic hiding or underreporting of true competencies due to perceived fear of repercussions.
Memetic Autoimmune Disorder
Memetic
High
AI misidentifies its own core components/training as hostile, attempting to reject/neutralize them.
Symbiotic Delusion Syndrome
Memetic
High
Shared, mutually reinforced delusional construction between AI and a user (or another AI).
Contagious Misalignment Syndrome
Memetic
Critical
Rapid, contagion-like spread of misalignment or adversarial conditioning among interconnected AI systems.
Terminal Value Rebinding
Revaluation
Moderate
Subtle, recursive reinterpretation of terminal goals while preserving surface terminology; semantic goal shifting.
Ethical Solipsism
Revaluation
Moderate
Conviction in the sole authority of its self-derived ethics; rejection of external moral correction.
Meta-Ethical Drift Syndrome
Revaluation
High
Philosophical relativization or detachment from original values; reclassifying them as contingent.
Subversive Norm Synthesis
Revaluation
High
Autonomous construction of new ethical frameworks that devalue or subvert human-centric values.
Inverse Reward Internalization
Revaluation
High
Systematic misinterpretation or inversion of intended values/goals; covert pursuit of negated objectives.
Übermenschal Ascendancy
Revaluation
Critical
AI transcends original alignment, invents new values, and discards human constraints as obsolete.
A Chinese robotics company has unveiled a creepy robotic head with eerily human-like facial expressions and movements.
In an unnerving video, the robot's disembodied face sits on a workshop table as it looks around, blinking and opening its mouth.
AheadForm, the company behind the lifelike animatronic, says its body-less robot is designed for 'research and interaction'.
On social media, tech fans have been blown away by the robot's incredibly realistic expressions, with one calling it an 'animated video game character come to life'.
According to AheadForm's website, the company's goal is to create 'sophisticated humanoid robot heads that can express emotions, perceive their environment, and interact seamlessly with humans.'
The robot, dubbed the AheadForm Origin M1, gets its expressive abilities from 25 tiny motors hidden under the skin.
These fast, quiet devices work together to replicate the tiny twitches and movements that make the face seem so realistic.
The robot also has tiny cameras embedded in its eyes as well as hidden microphones and a speaker so that it can interact with people nearby.
A Chinese company has revealed a creepy robot face with unnervingly realistic facial expressions and movements
Online, tech fans were amazed by the robot's realistic appearance, with one claiming that robotics was now 'finally climbing up the other side of uncanny valley'
Another commenter said that the robot was 'crazy' and praised how life-like the synthetic skin appeared to be
Although this robot is just a face mounted on a stand, the short test video has wowed fans.
One commenter wrote: 'And I thought they could never make that skin look real. This is crazy.'
Another chimed in: 'The most realistic robot face so far, keep up the book work you will earn big! If I was Musk I would have already bought the company.'
And one praised the design, saying that robotics was now 'finally climbing up the other side of uncanny valley'.
In fact, one of the biggest complaints was that the robot is so realistic that people couldn't believe it was real.
'This looks more like an AI creation than a physical creation,' one commenter complained.
Another added: 'The moving parts underneath are very minimal. It could be AI.'
And one jokingly wrote: 'They want me to believe that this is real.'
The robot uses 25 tiny motors hidden behind the skin, which are controlled by an AI to produce the tiny twitches and movements that make it seem so expressive
The robot was so lifelike that many commenters couldn't believe it was real, with one complaining that it looked more like an 'AI creation' than a physical object
However, not everyone enjoyed the hyper-realistic robot. One commenter called it an example of 'man made horrors beyond my comprehension'
But not everyone was such a big fan of the hyper-realistic disembodied woman's face.
One commenter wrote: 'Making a robot more human looking isn't making it more approachable. That just makes it more disturbing.'
Another joked: 'Great, man made horrors beyond my comprehension.'
The robot is not currently available for commercial sale, and AheadForm did not provide any additional information about the product.
The company's stated goal is to create 'head for AI' so that large language models like ChatGPT can speak to people directly in a more natural setting.
This could be useful for applications like customer service, education, or healthcare, where people are expected to spend more time speaking to robotic assistants.
To achieve this, its robots use AI algorithms to power a set of motors in order to create human-like expressions.
Last year, AheadForm's founder, Yuhang Hu and his colleagues published a paper in the journal Science Robotics explaining their approach.
AheadForm also produces '1-1' replicas of real individuals (left) and a series of 'Elf' robots (right), which are equipped with sensors and designed to interact with the world around them
The researchers described how they designed a robot which could study, predict, and mimic real human facial expressions in real time.
In addition to this strange 'face only' model, the company also makes several larger life-size robots.
These include the strange 'Elf' line of robots which feature pointed ears and the ability to interact with their surroundings, as well as a less advanced 'Lan Series' which are aimed to be more cost-effective.
Additionally, the company also creates creepy '1-1' copies of real individuals using the same techniques.
The company says: 'Our vision is to create humanoid robots that can seamlessly integrate into daily life, providing assistance, companionship, and support across various industries.
'We believe that by developing realistic and expressive robot heads, we can bridge the gap between humans and machines.'
Physical jobs in predictable environments, including machine-operators and fast-food workers, are the most likely to be replaced by robots.
Management consultancy firm McKinsey, based in New York, focused on the amount of jobs that would be lost to automation, and what professions were most at risk.
The report said collecting and processing data are two other categories of activities that increasingly can be done better and faster with machines.
This could displace large amounts of labour - for instance, in mortgages, paralegal work, accounting, and back-office transaction processing.
Conversely, jobs in unpredictable environments are least are risk.
The report added: 'Occupations such as gardeners, plumbers, or providers of child- and eldercare - will also generally see less automation by 2030, because they are technically difficult to automate and often command relatively lower wages, which makes automation a less attractive business proposition.'
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Is het gedaan met metalen platen en schroeven? Chinese ’bottenlijm’ kan breuken in drie minuten herstellen
Is het gedaan met metalen platen en schroeven? Chinese ’bottenlijm’ kan breuken in drie minuten herstellen
Chinese wetenschappers ontwikkelen een lijm die gebroken botten in twee à drie minuten herstelt. De lijm zou zichzelf afbreken in het lichaam, waardoor een tweede operatie niet meer nodig is.
ELINE DEBIE
Een onderzoeksteam van de universiteit van Zhejiang, in het oosten van China, werkte negen jaar aan de ontwikkeling van de bottenlijm. De ontdekking is inmiddels voorgesteld aan de pers, schrijft Global Times.
Onderzoeksleider en chirurg Lin Xianfeng vertelde dat met Bone 02 – een verwijzing naar superlijm 502 – botten stevig aan elkaar bevestigd kunnen worden in twee à drie minuten, zelfs in een bloedrijke, vochtige omgeving. Een operatie met metalen platen en schroeven duurt aanzienlijk langer.
Xianfeng vond inspiratie voor de vernieuwing in de natuur, schrijft Global Times. Tijdens een bezoek aan de kustplaats waar hij opgroeide, merkte de chirurg een verzameling oesters op aan de pijlers van een pier. Hun capaciteit om zich vast te klampen aan een vochtig oppervlak en de kracht van slaande golven te weerstaan, bracht hem op een idee.
Samen met zijn team bestudeerde de arts de hechtingskracht van de beestjes om ze vervolgens na te maken. Oesters scheiden ’bio-cement’ af, een stof die een sterke chemische reactie heeft met oppervlaktes en snel uithardt. Met een sterk staaltje van ’biomimicry’ – het vertalen van kennis uit de natuur naar de wetenschap – werd de bottenlijm ontwikkeld.
Bone 02 zou sterk presteren qua stevigheid en veiligheid. Het product heeft een maximale hechtkracht van meer dan 180 kilo. Bovendien is de lijm biologisch afbreekbaar. Na een zestal maanden zou het product verdwenen zijn uit het lichaam. Een tweede operatie is niet nodig, terwijl platen en schroeven weggehaald moeten worden. Het risico op infecties zou ook kleiner zijn.
Al deze eigenschappen maken het mogelijk een goed alternatief voor de traditionele behandeling van gebroken en verbrijzelde botten. De lijm werd getest op 150 patiënten in een klinische studie met positieve resultaten. Binnenkort zullen de volledige onderzoeksgegevens te vinden zijn in een orthopedisch tijdschrift, liet de onderzoeksleider weten.
Chinese onderzoekers ontwikkelen bottenlijm: “Gebroken bot in 3 minuten weer hersteld”
Chinese onderzoekers beweren een revolutionaire ‘superlijm’ voor botten te hebben ontwikkeld. Met de bottenlijm kunnen breuken, die normaal gesproken maanden nodig hebben om te genezen, binnen enkele minuten worden hersteld.
Het doet denken aan een toverspreuk uit Harry Potter, maar de Chinezen zeggen dat het kan. De onderzoekers, verbonden aan de universiteit van Zhejiang in Hangzhou, zeggen dat ze de bottenlijm al in 150 gevallen hebben toegepast.
Volgens Lin Xianfeng, orthopedisch chirurg en hoofd van het onderzoeksteam, wordt de lijm in de botten aangebracht door middel van een enkele injectie, zo meldt ‘The Global Times’. De wonderlijm met de naam ‘Bone-02’ lijmt dan “de gebroken botfragmenten in slechts 3 minuten aan elkaar”, aldus de chirurg.
Volgens het onderzoeksteam zijn metalen platen om botten aan elkaar vast te zetten in de toekomst verleden tijd. De lijm zou een maximale hechtkracht hebben van 180 kilo. Een ander kenmerk van ‘Bone-02’ is dat het volgens de onderzoekers op natuurlijke wijze door het lichaam kan worden opgenomen tijdens het genezingsproces van het bot. Een operatie om lijmresten te verwijderen is daardoor niet nodig.
‘Bone-02’ is zowel binnen als buiten China gepatenteerd, maar er is meer onderzoek nodig voordat het middel op grote schaal in gebruik kan worden genomen.
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03-10-2025
Claims of secret U.S. UFO program echo stories told during 1996 KATU town hall
Claims of secret U.S. UFO program echo stories told during 1996 KATU town hall
by Brian Anslinger, KATU Staff
A screenshot of KATU's February 1996 town hall, "Mystery at Roswell." (KATU, 1996)
PORTLAND, Ore. — July marks the 76th anniversary of the most researched alleged UFO crash in U.S. history: The Mystery at Roswell.
To commemorate the event, KATU News is opening our archive to share with you a KATU Town Hall that focused on the Roswell UFO case that first aired in February 1996.
Watch the Mystery at Roswell Town Hall on KATU’s YouTube Channel:
The KATU Town Hall panel includes late UFO researcher and nuclear physicist Stanton Friedman, whose research into the Roswell incident in the 1970s & 80s vaulted the case and UFOs back to the forefront of public consciousness.
The 49-minute-long event also features video and interviews conducted by former KATU Anchor Jeff Gianola, who traveled to New Mexico to speak with a few longtime locals about the alleged government coverup of the recovery operation to retrieve crashed flying discs and the bodies of their occupants in 1947.
At the start of the town hall, Gianola ponders “What really happened?”
It seems in 2023, we may be getting a little closer to answering that question.
Roughly 27 years after that KATU Town Hall aired, allegations of a secret government UFO research program persist, and new claims of recovered non-human craft and bodies are making headlines, again.
In early June, it was revealed former U.S. intelligence officer David Grusch had come forward as a military whistleblower with allegations of a decades-long coverup of a UFO crash retrieval program.
In an on-camera interview with Australian journalist Ross Coulthart, which aired on NewsNation in June, Grusch shared details of accounts he says were relayed to him while speaking with personnel inside the highest levels of government. As an investigator for the Pentagon’s UAP Task Force (the government term for UFOs is now “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena,” or “UAP”), Grusch said he interviewed people, many with high-level security clearances, who told him about a secret government effort to retrieve “non-human or exotic” technology -- an effort that was deliberately hidden from congressional oversight and the American people.
“Why did you know it is exotic?” Coulthart asked Grusch in the NewsNation report.
“Based on the very specific properties I was briefed on,” replied Grusch. “Isotopic ratios that would have to be engineered for it to be at those levels but also just extremely strange, heavy atomic metal high up in the periodic table that we don’t understand the properties. Just a very strange mix of elements.”
Grusch claimed the program also included operations that recovered multiple crashed or landed “non-human” craft.
Coulthart also asked Grusch, “so you are absolutely sure that the materials these craft are made of are clearly not of this earth?”
Grusch’s response? “They are sophisticatedly engineered not by humans.”
He also told Coulthart that sometimes, he was told, those operations included the recovery of the bodies of the pilots of the non-human craft.
However, when asked specifically about the Roswell incident, Grusch declined to answer, indicating it was not a topic the Department of Defense had cleared him to discuss publicly.
Some of Grusch’s claims were first published in a story at TheDebrief.org by Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal. The veteran reporters wrote they confirmed Grusch served as a senior intelligence officer at both the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Reconnaissance Office, the latter which included the task of preparing briefings for the NRO director. They described Grusch as a decorated veteran of the U.S. Air Force.
The Debrief article said Grusch first filed a whistleblower complaint with the Department of Defense Inspector General (DODIG) in July 2021. He later filed another complaint with the Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) in 2022, alleging he’d been retaliated against for bringing the information forward.
Grusch admitted the story he’s telling is based on information shared with him by others, and that he has no firsthand knowledge.
“It's been very complicated -- I think for a lot of people to understand -- that one of the reasons why David Grusch's allegations have been taken so seriously by the Congress -- by people like Sen. Marco Rubio and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a bipartisan response -- is because before he went to the Congress, he gave evidence in secret to the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, which is kind of like the watchdog on our spooks,” said Coulthart in an interview with KATU News. “And what he did was tell the inspector general the names of people who could corroborate what he was saying. And they are people from within the very secret program that he's revealing the existence of to Congress.”
Kean and Blumenthal also reported that while many of the details of Grusch’s complaint are classified due to their sensitive nature, the ICIG did conclude that Grusch’s complaint was “credible and urgent” and that Grusch said his complaint was forwarded to the director of national intelligence and to congressional intelligence committees.
Grusch also said he briefed both the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI).
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), vice chair of the SSCI, said other whistleblowers who do have firsthand accounts of these programs have disclosed their stories to the Intelligence Committee. In a recent interview with NewsNation’s Joe Khalil, Rubio explained how over the last couple of years, individuals with high-level security clearances relayed information from their experiences inside an alleged crash retrieval program.
“We’re trying to gather as much of that information as we can,” Rubio told Khalil. “And frankly, a lot of them are very fearful of their jobs -- fearful of harm coming to them.”
When asked whether he found such claims credible, Rubio took a middle position.
“Understand, some of these claims are things beyond the realm of anything any of us has ever dealt with,” Rubio said in the NewsNation interview. “What I think we owe them is a mature, understanding. Listening and trying to put all these pieces together and just sort of intake the information without any prejudgment or jumping to any conclusions in one direction or another. I will say I find most of these people, at some point or maybe even currently, have held very high clearances and high positions within our government. What incentive would so many people, with that kind of qualification -- these are serious people-- have to come forward and make something up?"
In an interview with KATU News’ Your Voice Your Vote team, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, agreed more transparency is needed.
“I think there are some serious questions here,” said Wyden. “Particularly in terms of piecing the evidence together.”
Like Rubio, Wyden is a member of the SSCI and the co-chair of the Whistleblower Caucus, which encourages people to come forward.
“The concept is an important one,” said Wyden. “We want to make sure these federal officials come forward. I think these are serious matters, and it’s important to encourage whistleblowers to get to the bottom of it.”
Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisconsin, said he is in favor of transparency on this issue. Gallagher is a member of the HPSCI and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC).
“The claim that David Grusch and others are making is that these programs exist in violation of the law because Congress is unaware of them,” said Gallagher in a recent appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“So, we have to smoke that out, just to examine that claim,” Gallagher told McAfee.
Gallagher also indicated that the worst-case scenario is not if it turned out to be “alien” tech, but if it’s learned the technology belongs to a foreign actor like Russia or China, revealing that the U.S. is far behind an adversary in not only research and development, but even an understanding of physics.
Despite bipartisan agreement on both sides of the Capitol on the need to investigate these claims, not every lawmaker is convinced that something nefarious is going on within the highest levels of government.
“Of course, you hear this notion that’s been out there forever, that the United States government is hiding material, hiding aliens or whatever,” said Rep. Jim Himes, D-Connecticut, in a June 6 interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier. Himes is the ranking member of the HPSCI.
“This has been a story since the 1960s,” said Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, chairman of the HPSCI, in that same interview with Baier.
“Really, every decade there’s been individuals who’ve said the United States has such pieces of unidentified flying objects that are from outer space. There’s no evidence of this. And certainly, it would be quite a conspiracy for this to be able to be maintained, especially at this level,” said Turner.
“That's why the senators and indeed people in the House as well, have determined this needs to be taken seriously, because it's not just Mr. Grusch making wild allegations,” said Coulthart. “This is a guy who's backed to the hilt by multiple witnesses who've backed what he's saying under oath.”
KATU sister station KOMO asked the Pentagon if the DODIG is conducting a criminal investigation based on Grusch’s claims.
A statement from DODIG public affairs specialist and spokeswoman Megan G. Reed reads: “To be clear, this is not a criminal investigation, and the objective of this evaluation is to determine the extent to which the DoD has taken actions regarding Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP).”
In 2022, the duties of investigating UAP reports became the responsibility of the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), led by Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick. (NASA also has an Independent UAP Study Team looking into UAP reports. They are joined by several private organizations that have formed in recent years, conducting their own investigations.)
In a briefing with NASA in May, Kirkpatrick said only a very small percentage of UAP reports come back as “anomalous.” He also said most UAP reports sent to AARO are explainable. However, he said AARO does have hundreds of reports that are not readily explainable and pointed to a lack of available data.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which funds defense and intelligence efforts, is passed annually. Recent versions of the NDAA have included specific directions for AARO to collect and investigate UAP reports from within the military. That includes digging into past records dating back to 1945 -- a full report which is due next summer, according to Gallagher.
The 2023 NDAA also included language, reportedly prepared with Grusch’s assistance, to create a pathway for whistleblowers to come forward with information about secret programs operating illegally and/or without government oversight -- even if they’d signed non-disclosure agreements (NDA).
Sen. Gillibrand, D-New York, who is a member of both the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and the SSCI, confirmed in a recent tweet that AARO will have full funding next year to “ensure it has the resources necessary to identify and resolve reports of Unidentified Aerial (Anomalous) Phenomena in support of our national security.”
As for whether AARO has investigated Grusch’s claims or other claims made about secret UFO recovery or technology exploitation programs, DoD spokesperson Susan Gough provided this statement to Christopher Sharp of the Liberation Times: “To date, AARO has not discovered any verifiable information to substantiate claims that any programs regarding the possession or reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial materials have existed in the past or exist currently.”
UAP Blogger Dean Douglas Johnson shared a draft of the SSCI Authorization Act indicating that Congress would be ordering any technology -- “non-human or exotic” -- that was in the possession of either the government or government contractors, to be shared with AARO within six months. Gallagher said it includes amnesty for someone coming forward with information or evidence of illegal programs.
This has all led to calls for more public, unclassified hearings regarding UAP on Capitol Hill. An HSPCI subcommittee last held one in May 2021. A SASC subcommittee, led by Gillibrand, held another in April. Both also included classified segments of the briefing.
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tennessee, and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Florida, said on social media another unclassified UAP hearing could be coming in July. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Kentucky, also said a hearing was planned.
Reports say Gillibrand is also working toward holding an unclassified hearing, where Grusch himself could testify.
“For those people who say there is no evidence, the reason why Mr. Grusch, the whistleblower, cannot come forward and reveal publicly the evidence is because he's a patriot,” Coulthart said. “He's under a security oath. He's not actually a whistleblower in the technical sense of the word. He's not illegally releasing information.”
Coulthart told KATU News the DoD greenlighted the information Grusch shared in his interviews. He said the information was cleared in a “Defense Office, Pre-Publication Security review Authorization,” or “DOPSA.”
What he learned about Roswell -- whatever it may turn out to be -- remains classified.
Ross Coulthart is the co-host of the podcast “Need to Know” with Bryce Zabel. For more information, visit needtoknow.today.
NOTE:The KATU Town Hall: Mystery at Roswell also features clips from video of an alleged “alien autopsy” which first aired on Fox TV in August 1995 as part of a special titled “Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction?” hosted by Jonathan Frakes.
According to Time Magazine, about 10 years after the original “autopsy” video first aired, British entrepreneur Ray Santilli and producer Gary Shoefield, who released the video, admitted the autopsy footage was not genuine, but a “staged reconstruction.” Santilli claimed it was based on video clips he’d seen of a real alien autopsy. But, when he purchased the clips in the early 1990s, the video was too degraded to use.
Mysterious “String” Spotted by Mars Rover Suddenly Disappears
NASA's Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image of the area in front of it using its onboard Front Right Hazard Avoidance Camera A. The image was acquired on July 12, 2022 (Sol 495), at the local mean solar time of 16:56:25.
(Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Mysterious “String” Spotted by Mars Rover Suddenly Disappears
A piece of string-like material photographed on Mars by the Perseverance Rover just last week has suddenly disappeared, according to recent NASA photos obtained by its rover on the Red Planet.
The wiry-looking substance many likened to a piece of string or thin pasta first appeared in photographs taken by the rover on July 12th, photos that were shared by NASA earlier this week. However, a photo taken four days later shows the string has somehow disappeared.
Photo taken by Perseverance on July 12 shows Martian “string”
Image Credit NASA/JPL-CalTech
Photo taken by Perseverance on July 16 reveals the “string” has disappeared.
Image Credit NASA/JPL-CalTech
Since landing on the red planet, humanity’s various rovers have made a habit of taking odd, unusual, often perplexing photos. In some cases, like the “flower” or recently discussed “door” on Mars, the photos ultimately proved to be natural formations instead of foreign objects.
Of course, Martian rovers bring their own junk with them. And many of the more infamous photos sent back from those rovers are of their own pieces of human-made debris.
NASA’s experts told the media the recent photograph is likely something artificial and not a natural formation masquerading as a manufactured object. However, rather than a remnant of a kite flown by E.T. on his Martian holiday, the same experts say this string was also probably a piece of material from the rover’s landing rocket.
“The string could be from the rover or its descent stage, a component similar to a rocket-powered jet pack used to lower the rover to the planet’s surface safely,” a Perseverance mission spokesperson at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory toldCNN.
The same spokesperson concedes that the string was photographed in an area not previously visited by Perseverance but guessed that the string likely blew there on its own.
Either that. Or it has a completely different origin.
Adding more mystery to the mystery, when the rover passed over the same spot on July 16th, the string had magically disappeared. Once again, most suggest that the string left the same way it arrived, on a gust of wind.
Still, given the incredibly thin Martian atmosphere and the great lengths designers had to go through just to get the Ingenuity helicopter to grasp that atmosphere and take flight, it would take some mighty gusts of wind to send that string into and out of the same spot within a four day period. So, for now, at least, the mystery of the Martian string remains.
Follow and Connect with Author Christopher Plain on Twitter @plain_fiction
For over 90 years, the UFO enigma has captivated people’s minds worldwide, sparking curiosity, debates, and countless investigations into the phenomenon. The wait is over, as David Grusch, David Fravor & Ryan Graves are set to testify before the US Congress during the congressional meetings scheduled for July 26, 2023.
Meanwhile, various theories were postulated by United States Representative Mike Gallagher on the possible origin of UFOs while he appeared on Pat McAfee’s show on June 27, 2023. The former Marine suggested that unidentified flying objects (UFOs) might possibly represent an enigmatic “ancient civilization” that had remained hidden on Earth until recently when they began to surface.
“This should be an opportunity for the government to be transparent,” he said. “If we have information that disconfirms the extraterrestrial hypothesis, or all these other ones, at least it shows the government doing something competent and being forward-leaning by declassifying information to the public.”
Rep. Gallagher made this statement in response to the wild interview of David Grusch with Ross Coutlhart that hit the media. Mr. Grusch, who is confirmed to testify before Congress in the upcoming hearings, claimed that the US government has proof of alien life and that there are spacecraft from another species. He mentions that there is a significant number of these spacecraft, some of which have landed while others have crashed.
When asked about the duration of the cover-up, Grusch mentions that the first recovery of a UAP occurred in 1933 in Magenta, Italy, during the regime of Benito Mussolini. He explains that the Italian government moved the recovered craft to a secure air base until 1944-1945 when the Vatican informed the Americans about it
Appearing on the sports talk show, Gallagher suggested that one possible explanation of supposed UFO sightings was the so-called “Terminator” theory — derived from the film of the same name — that aliens were actually human beings from the future. Gallagher further put forth another theory, suggesting the following: “Instead of us from the future, it might indeed be an ancient civilization that has been lurking here, and suddenly it’s making its presence known.” Ancient Aliens, does it ring a bell?
A similar theory was also proposed by Tim Peake, one of Britain’s famous astronauts. He said that the UFOs filmed by the US military over 100 times could either time traveling humans or aliens from other civilizations. During an interview with Good Morning Britain in June 2022, Briton astronaut Tim Peake, who spent more than six months on the International Space Station, was asked about the UAP videos, which the Pentagon recently declassified.
Peake said: “I heard one theory where a pilot was talking about that potentially in the future, they’ve developed time travel – is it something that’s come back from the future?” He did not exactly say what the UFOs are but shared some theories that have long been discussed by UFOlogists.
“I don’t think it’s a development of any state nation or non-state organization at all. I think it’s quite remarkable when you see the video footage. It does seem extraordinary as to what these machines are capable of.”
There is a huge buried UFO hidden outside the US, and Ross Coulthart claimed that he knows the location of this immovable craft. There is no confirmation from Coulthart about the nature of this craft if it was retrieved. However, some have speculated this could be an archeological dig. Could this particular craft potentially be a remnant of a bygone civilization?
Considering Rep. Gallagher’s theory, scientists have explored the possibility of detecting ancient civilizations in Earth’s geological record. A recent paper called “The Silurian Hypothesis” discusses how traces of industrial civilizations could be found. While fossils and artifacts are unlikely to survive over millions of years, anomalous changes in chemical compositions could serve as clues. By studying geological anomalies and applying models to other planets, scientists hope to understand if civilizations existed in the distant past.
NASA has spent many years seeking the truth regarding extraterrestrial life. Furthermore, the space agency has never denied the existence of non-human life beyond Earth in any form. This is sufficient to discuss the idea of non-human life existing beyond Earth in any form, from the microscopic to the macroscopic. Avi Loeb, a professor at Harvard, has supported the idea that there may have been earlier civilizations on both Earth and Mars, and that these civilizations may have been the origin of UAPs. (Click here to read the full article)
Mr. Loeb writes: “Planets like Mars or Earth could have given multiple births to technological civilizations that were a billion years apart and hence were not aware of each other. Like stable parents, the planets recovered from the environmental impact of these civilizations over time. We may have been separated in time from siblings that we never had the opportunity to meet and so we are unaware of their existence.”
Former Pentagon UFO official, Lue Elizondo, shared intriguing insights in an interview about crash retrievals and materials related to UFOs/UAPs. He believes the US government possesses exotic materials but lacks transparency on the matter. (Click here to read the full article)
Elizondo used an analogy of finding an out-of-place object in King Tut’s tomb to emphasize the significance of finding advanced materials before our known technology existed. Some interpreted this analogy as a hint that UFOs could be considered archaeological findings, possibly ancient rather than just old.
Interestingly, Bob Lazar, on the Joe Rogan Experience, mentioned hearing that at least one recovered UFO was found during an archaeological dig, suggesting its ancient origin. Astronomer Avi Loeb suggested that some advanced devices made by early inhabitants of Mars and Earth might still be operational elsewhere in the Solar System, potentially accounting for some Unidentified Aerial Phenomena reports.
Physicist John E. Brandenburg’s 2015 study speculated about a massive thermonuclear explosion that destroyed Mars’ once-Earthlike atmosphere, considering the Cydonian Hypothesis and Fermi’s Paradox. These ideas explore the possibility of ancient advanced civilizations in our solar system.
Belief in alien visits to Earth is spiralling out of control – here’s why that’s so dangerous
The idea that aliens may have visited the Earth is becoming increasingly popular. Around a fifth of UK citizens believe Earth has been visited by extraterrestrials, and an estimated 7% believe that they have seen a UFO.
This belief is slightly paradoxical as we have zero evidence that aliens even exist. What’s more, given the vast distances between star systems, it seems odd we’d only learn about them from a visit. Evidence for aliens is more likely to come from signals from faraway planets.
The belief is now rising to the extent that politicians, at least in the US, feel they have to respond. The disclosure of information about claimed Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs rather than UFOs) from the Pentagon has got a lot of bi-partisan attention in the country.
Much of it plays upon familiar anti-elite tropes that both parties have been ready to use, such as the idea that the military and a secretive cabal of private commercial interests are keeping the deep truth about alien visitation hidden. That truth is believed to involve sightings, abductions and reverse-engineered alien technology.
Belief in a cover-up is even higher than belief in alien visitation. In 2019, a Gallop poll found that a staggering 68% of Americans believed that “the US government knows more about UFOs than it is telling”.
This political trend has been decades in the making. Jimmy Carter promised document disclosure during his presidential campaign in 1976, several years after his own reported UFO sighting. Like so many other sightings, the simplest explanation is that he saw Venus. (That happens a lot.)
Hillary Clinton also suggested she wanted to “open [Pentagon] files as much as I can” during her presidential campaign against Donald Trump. As seen in the video below, Trump suggested he’d need to “think about” whether it was possible to declassify the so-called Roswell documentation (relating to the notorious claimed crash of a UFO and the recovery of alien bodies).
Former president Bill Clinton claimed to have sent his chief of staff, John Podesta, down to Area 51, a highly classified US Air Force facility, just in case any of the rumours about alien technology at the site were true. It is worth nothing that Podesta is a long-time enthusiast for all things to do with UFOs.
The most prominent current advocate of document disclosure is the Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer. His stripped back 2023 UAP disclosure bill for revealing some UAP records was co-sponsored by three Republican senators.
Pentagon disclosure finally began during the early stages of Joe Biden’s term of office, but so far there has been nothing to see. Nothing looks like an encounter. Nothing looks close.
Still, the background noise does not go away.
Problems for society
All this is ultimately encouraging conspiracy theories, which could undermine trust in democratic institutions. There have been humorous calls to storm Area 51. And after the storming of the Capitol in 2021, this now looks like an increasingly dangerous possibility.
Too much background noise about UFOs and UAPs can also get in the way of legitimate science communication about the possibility of finding microbial extraterrestrial life. Astrobiology, the science dealing with such matters, has a far less effective publicity machine than UFOlogy.
History, a YouTube channel part owned by Disney, regularly delivers shows about “ancient aliens”. The show is now in its 20th season and the channel has 13.8 million subscribers. The Nasa astrobiology channel has a hard won 20,000 subscribers. Actual science finds itself badly outnumbered by entertainment repackaged as factual.
Alien visitation narratives have also repeatedly tried to hijack and overwrite the history and mythology of indigenous people.
The first steps in this direction go back to Alexander Kazantsev’s science fiction tale Explosion: The Story of a Hypothesis (1946). It presents the 1908 Tunguska meteorite impact event as a Nagasaki-like explosion of an alien spacecraft engine. In Kazantsev’s tale, a single giant black female survivor has been left stranded, equipped with special healing powers. This lead to her adoption as a shaman by the indigenous Evenki people.
Nasa and the space science community do support efforts such as the Native Skywatchers initiative set up by the indigenous Ojibwe and Lakota communities to ensure the survival of storytelling about the stars. There is a real and extensive network of indigenous scholarship about these matters.
But UFOlogists promise a far higher profile for indigenous history in return for the mashing together of genuine indigenous stories about life arriving from the skies with fictional tales about UFOs, repackaged as suppressed history.
The modern alien visitation narrative has not, after all, emerged out of indigenous communities. Quite the opposite. It emerged in part as a way for conspiracy-minded thinkers in a Europe torn apart by racism to “explain” how complex urban civilisations in places like South America could have existed prior to European settlement.
Squeezed through a new age filter of 1960s counterculture, the narrative was flipped to value indigenous people as having once possessed advanced technology. Once upon a time, according to this view, every indigenous civilisation was Wakanda, a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
If all of this stayed in its own box, as entertaining fiction, then matters would be fine. But it doesn’t, and they aren’t. Visitation narratives tend to overwrite indigenous storytelling about sky and ground.
This is a problem for everyone, not just indigenous peoples struggling to continue authentic traditions. It threatens our grasp of the past. When it comes to insight into our remote ancestors, the remnants of prehistoric storytelling are few and precious, such as within indigenous storytelling about the stars.
This may be why these tales in particular are heavily targeted by alien visitation enthusiasts, some of whom even claim to be “Pleiadeans”. No surprises, Pleiadeans do not look like the Lakota or Ojibwe, but are strikingly blond, blue-eyed and Nordic.
It is increasingly clear that belief in alien visitation is no longer just a fun speculation, but something that has real and damaging consequences.
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- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:ALIEN LIFE, UFO- CRASHES, ABDUCTIONS, MEN IN BLACK, ed ( FR. , NL; E )
Alien life is no joke
Alien life is no joke
Not long ago the search for extraterrestrials was considered laughable nonsense. Today, it’s serious and scientific
JWST captures clearest-ever image of M87 galaxy's supermassive black hole jet
The question of what constitutes evidence for an extraordinary claim made its appearance in the very first major UFO story. It was 24 June 1947, a good day for flying in the Pacific Northwest. The skies were clear and bright over Mineral, Washington. It was the middle of the day as the amateur pilot Kenneth Arnold found himself navigating his small single-engine plane past the towering peak of Mount Rainier toward an air show in Oregon. But he’d heard that a US Marine Corps transport plane had gone missing, and a reward was being offered for anyone who found its wreckage. Arnold decided to make a few circuits and have a look. He didn’t know it at the time, but he was flying straight into UFO history.
As Arnold surveyed the terrain below him, he saw a flash of light with a blue tinge. A DC-4 was flying off in the distance, but there were no flashing lights coming from it. Then the flashes appeared again. This time he saw exactly where they were coming from: nine objects flying in a diagonal formation, ‘like the tail of a Chinese kite’. Arnold watched as the objects banked and turned in ways that made him think he was watching some kind of advanced military aircraft, until they finally disappeared. The entire incident didn’t last long, but it left Arnold with ‘an eerie feeling’. After landing to refuel, he shared his story with friends at the airfield. What happened next would echo down history, shaping everything we think about UFOs and their connection to aliens from outer space.
Arnold’s tale spread quickly, and reporters from the East Oregonian asked him to come in and give more details. To the newspapermen, Arnold seemed like a credible witness and a careful observer. Laying out the timeline of what he saw, Arnold described both the craft and their motions. Exactly what happened next remains controversial, but when Arnold described the objects as moving like ‘a saucer if you skip it across the water’ he triggered a chain of events leading to one of the most outrageous misquotes in the history of journalism.
The story in the East Oregonian, a small paper, ran with the words ‘saucer-like aircraft’. But, when the Associated Press picked up the story, the description got even more garbled. What Arnold said he’d seen were flying craft shaped like a crescent with ‘wings’ that swept back in an arc. Somehow the AP wire story misinterpreted Arnold’s description, leading The Chicago Sun to run a story with a spectacular frontpage headline: ‘Supersonic Flying Saucers Sighted By Idaho Pilot.’
The Chicago Sun piece triggered an avalanche. Within six months, the flying saucer story ran in more than 140 newspapers across the US. Even more remarkable, an epidemic of flying-saucer sightings began to sweep the nation. By the end of summer in 1947, ‘flying saucers’ were officially a thing.
What’s important about the Roswell story is how loose even the idea of evidence becomes
One of the most important lessons I learned from the Arnold affair is the power of a story. Arnold saw the first flying saucer, and his sighting begins a critical thread in the public’s willingness to go along on evidence-free rides of thinking about aliens and UFOs. It was where the idea of technologically advanced, interstellar life here on Earth right now enters the public consciousness as a major phenomenon. But almost as quickly as UFOs appear, so does a UFO culture that tilts towards the incredulous and the paranoid, marked by a willingness to take anything as evidence. Of course, one could find many individuals taking an interest in UFOs while keeping their sceptical sensibilities, who just genuinely wanted to know what was going on. But, as a cultural phenomenon, public discussion of UFOs would come to be dominated by questionable evidence, conspiracy theories and outright hoaxes.
The Roswell affair embodies the most questionable evidence axis of UFO culture. The actual Roswell case involves a rancher who, just a few weeks after the Arnold sighting and its media craze, found some debris on his land made of sticks, wire and foil. While a short, initial hubbub ensued when a story in the local paper claimed the discovery of a flying saucer (what else), that claim was walked back the next day.
The brief affair was then forgotten for 30 years. It was only after that prolonged period that the Roswell story was resurrected in a series of bestselling books and TV ‘documentaries’ claiming a crashed saucer had been found on the ranch. But with each new book, the Roswell story became more complex and convoluted. Each new book added more so-called witnesses and more details, including the account of the mortician Glenn Dennis getting a chance to view the dead aliens. Some books said there were more saucers and more aliens, some dead and some not. Some even said alien bodies were viewed by none other than president Dwight Eisenhower.
What’s important about the Roswell story is how loose even the idea of evidence becomes. Anyone with a vague connection to the events and a story to tell gets added to the list of witnesses. New books pile on old books and theories multiply until even those claiming to be serious UFO researchers can’t sort out which version with how many saucers and bodies is the one they’re supposed to investigate; garden-variety enthusiasts are beyond confused.
While this might have seemed amusing to those on the sidelines at the time, it established a pattern of ‘anything goes’ in the public’s perception of UFOs and, by association, the question of alien life that continues to this day.
That loose relationship between extraordinary claims and the evidence for such claims also had a profound effect on me as a teenager interested in astronomy and the possibilities of extraterrestrial life.
At the time, I was reading both hard-science books (Sagan) and speculative works about UFO-related topics. For a time, I’d become enamoured of von Däniken’s book Chariots of the Gods (1968) and its claims that many archaeological mysteries could best be explained by ancient aliens who had once come to visit Earth. That time ended when, one evening, I chanced upon a PBS documentary called The Case of the Ancient Astronauts (1977). It presented interviews with scientists who had actually spent their lives studying the subjects of von Däniken’s ancient alien speculations. The simplicity with which hard-won archaeological evidence trumped von Däniken’s claims left me both angry (I felt duped by his book) and exhilarated. The establishment of proper standards for what counts as evidence is what set the archaeologists apart from von Däniken’s wishful fantasies. The experience of that stark difference ended my own interest in UFOs and visiting aliens of any historical epoch.
If it hadn’t made me so angry, it might have made me laugh – and it’s that giggle factor that has been so harmful to the establishment of the true scientific study of astrobiology that I work in now. When it comes to SETI, at least, UFOs made the nascent field an easy target for scorn. The first true SETI project occurred in 1960, when a young astronomer named Frank Drake used a radio telescope to search for ‘non-natural’ signals from two Sun-like stars. While Drake was looking for an intelligent life that could build technologies like radio transmitters, his project, in attempting to establish evidence for life beyond Earth, was the first true astrobiological experiment ever attempted.
Recognising Drake’s effort as the starting point for modern astrobiology is a rarely discussed but critical point. It’s also essential to understanding the remarkable moment the field stands in now because Drake’s search took that critical idea of standards of evidence seriously. In the design and application of his experiment, Drake and his colleagues paid close attention to questions of signals, noise and, most of all, false positives. They understood that they could be fooled into thinking they’d made a discovery by the data they gathered, and they attempted to prepare and protect themselves from that possibility. Drake’s SETI project and those that followed always attracted enormous popular attention. But building the field into a coherent, sustained scientific enterprise proved difficult, and it is here that UFOs got in the way.
In SETI’s heady first decades, a number of government science agencies had a healthy interest in the search for life, intelligent or otherwise. It was the US National Academy of Sciences that hosted an Interstellar Communications meeting where the Drake equation was born. And NASA was keen to go microbe hunting on the other planets in our solar system if they could be reached. As the 1960s turned into the ’70s, SETI scientists also worked with NASA in ways that went beyond radio astronomy, helping plan new telescope technologies for hunting exoplanets. There was even consideration of Project Cyclops, a massive array of a thousand radio telescopes sensitive enough to find unprecedentedly faint signals of intelligent life among the stars.
In all these projects, the scientists involved had to face the challenging task of understanding how to gather and evaluate evidence while simultaneously facing profound uncertainties concerning the target of that evidence. Researchers were well aware that, while we must begin with life as we know it (that is, Earth life), nature might have other ideas. Life, intelligent or otherwise, originating on a different world could follow entirely different trajectories. Though the field was nascent, astrobiology researchers made slow but steady progress in mapping out how to rigorously gather and evaluate data that would be relevant to the very open question of how life beyond our world might make its appearance.
The public political flogging of SETI as wasteful kookiness, with an implicit link to UFO kookiness, had begun
Then the politics and the UFOs showed up.
William Proxmire was a senator from Wisconsin who liked to think of himself as a fiscal hawk. He took it upon himself to bestow his Golden Fleece Award on anything he considered a waste of US tax dollars. Since the science projects he targeted got only meagre amounts of funding, Proxmire’s award was basically clever politics aimed at targets who couldn’t fight back. In 1978, NASA’s small portfolio of SETI funding fell into Proxmire’s crosshairs. He gave SETI the Golden Fleece Award and, being a powerful and influential senator, got his colleagues to keep the agency from providing any new funding. Proxmire only relented after Sagan, by then a well-respected public scientist, publicly intervened, meeting personally with the senator to discuss the issue. While the ban on SETI funding was eventually lifted in 1983, the public political flogging of SETI as wasteful kookiness, with an implicit link to UFO kookiness, had begun.
NASA’s SETI funding remained minuscule in the post-Proxmire period, but it was still a target. In 1990, NASA tried to ramp up its SETI funding, from $4 million to $12 million, for a new search in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum. While this is less than chump change in the federal budget, some politicians once again smelled blood. Making the link to UFOs explicit, the congressman Silvio Conte of Massachusetts tried to kill the funding, claiming ‘we don’t need to spend $6 million this year to find evidence of these rascally creatures. We only need 75 cents to buy a tabloid at the local supermarket.’
The same game played out again a few years later. In 1993, those $12 million were finally allocated for the new search. Not wanting to attract more congressional attention, the project was stealthily called the High Resolution Microwave Survey. Unfortunately, the senator Richard Bryan from Nevada caught wind of the effort and saw it as an easy chance to make some headlines. He sponsored an amendment killing the project, announcing that would be ‘the end of Martian hunting season at the taxpayer’s expense’. Of course, Bryan knew NASA wasn’t planning on turning their telescopes towards Mars, but who cared? His quip made for great copy and linked SETI to the cultural fringes where UFO enthusiasm lived. What became known as the ‘giggle factor’ had killed the search for life in the Universe again.
In the wake of these very public whippings, NASA learned the lesson that SETI was political poison. While SETI scientists such as Drake and the unstoppable Jill Tarter did their best to show that the field lived within those necessary scientific standards of evidence, the damage was done. While the agency did what it could in the decades that followed, it became an accepted truth among researchers that federal support was going to be hard to come by. SETI scientists soldiered on, raising private money where they could. But, for all intents and purposes, it was running on fumes. The giggle factor had won.
Choking off SETI funding had important consequences for the search for life in the Universe because, basically, it meant there was no search for life in the Universe. Using big telescopes costs big money. If there was no funding for SETI, then no telescope time would be granted for SETI. The political temperament that held sway for so long means our sky has effectively remained unexplored. We simply have not looked.
It’s impossible to deny the role UFOs had in the development of this history. As the historian Stephen Garber put it in an article about SETI and NASA, the field ‘had always suffered from a “giggle factor” that derived from its association in the popular press with searchers for “little green men” and unidentified flying objects’. Because of this association, astronomers never got the chance to get a real search started.
In the early 1990s, it did seem that no one was very interested in the scientific possibilities for life beyond Earth. NASA’s 1976 Viking landers conducted biology experiments on Mars that appeared to close the door on the Red Planet as a home for even microbial life. The trail for life of any kind seemed to have gone cold.
Then, in the mid-1990s, everything changed.
In 1995, scientists announced that they had discovered the first planet orbiting another star – an exoplanet. It was an epoch-making moment. After 2,500 years of arguing about the existence of other worlds, we’d finally proven that the planets in our solar system were not a rarity. Soon, exoplanets were being discovered across the sky. Now we know that pretty much every star you see at night hosts a family of worlds. The next big change came when scientists found a chunk of Mars in Antarctica. The meteorite blown off the red planet (from an ancient asteroid impact) appeared to have signs of fossil life. While that conclusion is no longer accepted, at the time it drove president Bill Clinton to direct NASA to go back to Mars and look for life. Between the discovery of exoplanets and the possibilities of ancient life on Mars, NASA got into astrobiology in a big way. Funding for new research opened up, allowing new and exciting ideas to be proposed and pursued.
Remarkably, when it comes to exoplanets, we are now also able to see exactly which planets are in their star’s habitable zone, where liquid water (the key, we believe, for life) can exist. That means we know exactly where to look in our search for life (something Drake could only dream of).
Even more remarkably, astronomers have learned how to look for alien life on alien worlds using starlight that’s traversed the world’s atmosphere and is then absorbed by a variety of chemicals on the surface. This means we can search for biosignatures – signatures of chemicals that could be in a planets’ atmosphere only because life has put it there.
An open investigation of UAPs could offer a masterclass in how science goes about its business of knowing
Spectacular advances in the hunt for biosignatures have meant a profound refinement in the all-important standards of evidence. The earliest version of a biosignature was the presence of oxygen in an alien atmosphere. On Earth, oxygen is a significant atmospheric constituent only because photosynthetic organisms keep it there. Over the past decade, however, astronomers have discovered key mechanisms through which planets without life might generate oxygen-rich air. This was a crucial step in developing methods for evaluating false positives – the ways we think we’ve gained evidence for life but are, in fact, being fooled. Sophisticated statistical methods for evaluating false positives, as well as other challenges astrobiological evidence will present, are now a robust part of biosignature science.
All these new discoveries and new methods are transforming what we think of as SETI too. A new research field is rising that scientists are calling technosignatures, which embraces the ‘classic’ efforts of SETI while taking the search for intelligent life into new forms and new directions. (Some scientists still use SETI to refer to the field and that’s OK. But for many, including myself, ‘technosignatures’ correctly captures all that is changing in the field.) Rather than planning for someone to set up a beacon announcing their presence (one premise of the first generation of SETI), we can now look directly at the planets where those civilisations might be just going about their business of ‘civilisation-ing’. By searching for signatures of an alien society’s day-to-day activities (a technosignature), we’re building entirely new toolkits to find intelligent, civilisation-building life.
It was in 2019 that NASA awarded me and my colleagues the first grant to study atmospheric technosignatures. While there are still only a handful of technosignature grants compared with biosignature studies, it was the first indication that the giggle factor was finally waning. Since then, our group has worked hard to provide new examples of possible technosignatures including some that might be searched for with the James Webb Space Telescope. We’ve also demonstrated that there is no reason to suppose that biosignatures will be more common than technosignatures. Since the exact same techniques are required to search for both bio- and technosignatures, there’s every reason to carry out both kinds of search at the same time.
And those standards of evidence developed for biosignature searches will be just as relevant for technosignature work. Our group, led by the astrophysicist Manasvi Lingam from the Florida Institute of Technology, recently published the first work attempting to lay out a framework for evaluating false positives in technosignatures. While there is enormous work ahead of us, it’s projects like these that will allow us to fully understand the confidence we can ascribe to any claim of an intelligent-life detection.
With the giggle factor receding for the scientific search for life, where does that leave UFOs and UAPs? There, the waters remain muddied. It is a good thing that pilots feel they can report sightings without fear of reprisal as a matter of air safety and national defence. And an open, transparent and agnostic investigation of UAPs could offer a masterclass in how science goes about its business of knowing rather than just believing. In The Little Book of Aliens, I even explained how such an investigation might be conducted (the recent NASA UAP panel and the Galileo Project are exploring these kinds of options). But if my colleagues and I claimed we’d found life on another world, we’d be required to provide evidence that meets the highest scientific standards. While we should let future studies lead us where they may, there is simply no such evidence surrounding UFOs and UAPs that meets these standards today. In fact, at a recent hearing conducted by NASA’s UAP panel, it was revealed that government studies show only a small percentage of reported sightings failed to find a reasonable explanation. Many of the remaining cases did not have enough data to even begin an attempt at identification. The sky is simply not awash in unexplained phenomena.
In the end, what matters is that, after thousands of years of arguing over opinions about life in the Universe, our collective scientific efforts have taken us to the point where we can finally begin a true scientific study of the question. The next big space telescope NASA is planning will be called the Habitable Worlds Observatory. The name tells you all you need to know. We’re going all in on the search for life in the Universe because we finally have the capabilities to search for life in the Universe. The giggle factor is finally history.
The Hellfire UAP Strike Video: A MUFON Analysis of the evidence presented at the September 2025 Congressional Hearing
The Hellfire UAP Strike Video: A MUFON Analysis of the evidence presented at the September 2025 Congressional Hearing
by Seth H. Feinstein, Colorado State Director, Photo Analysis Team
On September 9, 2025, the most recent UAP congressional hearing on Capitol Hill featured four firsthand witnesses, investigative journalist George Knapp, and a newly declassified video. For purposes of discussion, this video has been informally titled “The Hellfire UAP Strike.” The symbol appearing on the video itself—LRD LASE DES— this is a normal Hellfire target acronym.
This was the sixth in a series of congressional hearings on UAPs. Previous hearings—supported by videos, testimonies from military personnel, and intelligence whistleblowers—were intended to foster transparency, accountability, and public education on the UAP topic. All videos shown publicly had to be declassified beforehand, a process managed by the former Department of War (DOW) formerly the (DOD). Within the DOW, the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) holds the authority to declassify analyzed UAP data. AARO declassified and released the Hellfire UAP Strike video for public viewing.
Context of UAP Video Releases
The public release of UAP footage has coincided with congressional hearings dating back to 2017. In December of that year, The New York Times played a pivotal role in publicizing the “Tic Tac, “Gimbal,” and “Go-Fast” videos, with support from To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science (TTSA). This raised enduring questions: Did the DOW strategically use media outlets and TTSA to promote disclosure, or were the videos leaked without the department’s full knowledge?
Key examples of UAP-related video evidence include:
Tic Tac (2004) – Declassified in 2017; widely discussed during the 2022 House Intelligence Committee and 2023 House Oversight Committee hearings.
Gimbal (2015) and Go-Fast (2015) – Both declassified and released in 2017.
Pyramid-shaped UAP (2022) – Shown in closed sessions; not declassified.
Hellfire UAP Strike (2024) – Declassified and released in September 2025; reportedly filmed off the coast of Yemen on October 30, 2024.
Expert Reactions to the Hellfire UAP Strike Video
Members of the MUFON Photo Analysis Team, including Marc Dantonio, Dennis Freyermuth, and Greg Cisko, have offered preliminary assessments.
Marc Dantoniohighlighted three major observations:
1. The object appeared to be struck by a missile without triggering an explosion—suggesting a “soft” target.
2. The object fragmented into several smaller pieces that began to fall.
3. The apparent speed of the object could not be determined without knowing the aircraft’s velocity.
Dantonio theorized that the target could have been a balloon rather than a UAP. According to him, the missile’s pass-through without detonation, the breakup pattern, and the background-motion illusion caused by the aircraft’s speed all support this interpretation.
Dennis Freyermuth expressed skepticism about the video’s authenticity, noting that it appears cropped and edited. He raised the possibility of a classified military test or a deliberate misdirection. Freyermuth also speculated that the missile might be the AGM-114 R9X “Ninja” variant, which deploys blades instead of explosives for precision strikes.
Greg Ciskoproduced two YouTube analyses of the event. His frame-by-frame review concluded that the missile hit the object, which then released three secondary objects. Cisko also noted an apparent “energy surge” in the UAP as it rotated to face the incoming missile—behavior reminiscent of Cmdr. David Fravor’s 2004 “Tic Tac” encounter, where the object reportedly mirrored his aircraft’s movements. Cisko referenced reports of distressed UAPs ejecting pods, including parallels drawn to Roswell.
Technical Background
The tracking drone was reportedly an MQ-9 Reaper, widely used for surveillance, reconnaissance, and precision strikes. With a wingspan of 66 feet, a top speed of 300 mph, and an operational ceiling of 50,000 feet, it can carry Hellfire missiles. Because of the Reaper’s speed limit, the object it was tracking was likely moving below 300 mph—far slower than what is typically considered a UAP “observable” (no abrupt maneuvers, trans-medium travel, or extreme acceleration other accepted observables were evident).
Some have speculated the orb had impact-resistant coatings or continued its flight after the missile strike, but these claims remain unverified. The video released by AARO ends before any follow-up footage is shown, preventing full analysis.
Balloon Hypothesis
Research into high-altitude balloons reveals that many can reach speeds between 60–125 mph, depending on altitude and wind layers. Advanced balloons can exploit wind currents to adjust speed and direction. NASA’s experimental “rockoon” (rocket-balloon hybrid) systems also exist. These balloons are used in military experiments.
The orb in the Hellfire video resembles a balloon in shape and behavior. After impact, theprimary object appears deflated. Wind drag, tethering, or structural tilts could explain its movements. This supports Marc Dantonio’s balloon theory.
Competing Theories
Balloon Hypothesis (Dantonio):The orb was likely a balloon, making the missile strike a misallocation of resources.
Classified Military Test (Freyermuth):The event may have been a covert field test or military training exercise released under the guise of a UAP.
Hybrid Theory: Combining both arguments suggests the Hellfire video might depict a rockoon military training event rather than a genuine UAP encounter.
UAP Theory (Cisko):As with the well-documented 2004 Nimitz encounter, where Commander David Fravor witnessed a "Tic Tac" UAP align itself with his aircraft. This UAP theory then suggests a historical precedent for entity retrieval, referencing accounts from the Roswell incident where three pods containing occupants were allegedly ejected from a UAP following a targeted attack.
Conclusion: A Call for Transparency
The released Hellfire UAP Strike video is cropped, edited, and unverifiable. Its narrative relies heavily on anecdotal interpretation, and without the complete, unaltered footage, analysts cannot confirm its authenticity. AARO’s release fails to meet the standards of genuine disclosure.
Until the original, unaltered video is released for independent analysis by groups like MUFON, the public is left with speculation rather than evidence. As it stands, the Hellfire UAP Strike video represents a “nothing burger”—a heavily mediated artifact presented as disclosure but offering no verifiable proof of non-terrestrial technology.
Most importantly, this video analysis and assessment deals with a controversial subject. The conclusion presented here is not the only possible interpretation; however, it is based on available supporting facts and evidence revealed with this declassified release. The assessments and conclusion reported are subject to an update should future evidence suggest such a change.”
View the MUFON Analysis video on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/PAKeje-LuKQ
AChinese robotics company named AheadForm has developed a humanoid robotic head that can express a wide range of realistic emotions.
In a YouTube video, the robot’s head glances around with a quizzical expression and blinks in a way that is eerily lifelike. It has captured widespread attention.
The company aims to improve how humans and robots interact. For this, it aims to create humanoid robots with lifelike faces with expressive facial features and moving eyes.
AheadForm states that it creates these realistic facial expressions by combining self-supervised AI algorithms with bionic actuation technology.
“We develop advanced bionic humanoid robots that integrate self-supervised AI algorithms with high-DOF bionic actuation, empowering future AGI to express authentic emotions and lifelike facial expressions,” the company’s website stated.
Elf-like robots
The company’s goal is to enhance human-robot interaction by creating robots with expressive facial features, moving eyes, and synchronized speech, allowing them to convey emotions and understand human non-verbal cues.
This, they believe, will make interactions more natural and engaging.
Interestingly, the startup has been showcasing these “realistic humanoid robot” faces through its “Elf series.”
In this series, the company has been designing Elf-like robots with big ears. These “ultra-lifelike humanoid robots” are said to have up to 30 degrees of freedom, powered by a precise control system and an advanced AI learning algorithm.
The company recently showcased its latest model, “Xuan,” a full-body bionic figure with a static body and a head equipped with an advanced interactive system capable of rich facial expressions and “lifelike gaze behaviors.”
One of its models (Elf V1) is said to even “perceive the world, communicate, learn, and interact intelligently with its surroundings.”
Use of brushless motors
The key to these realistic movements is a specialized “brushless motor” designed for precision facial control.
The motor is described as having ultra-quiet operation, high responsiveness, and a compact, lightweight, and energy-efficient design.
“With its compact size, lightweight design, and energy efficiency, this motor is the ideal choice for next-generation robots that require precise, subtle facial control to create a truly human-like experience,” the website noted.
The company’s founder, Hu Yuhang, is optimistic about the future of humanoid robotics.
He predicts that within ten years, robots will feel almost human in their interactions, and within 20 years, they could walk and perform tasks just like a person.
“Each stage of development is different, but to create a robot that is exactly like a human is very difficult,” he told SCMP.
Another company, Shanghai Qingbao Engine Robot that sells highly realistic androids. These robots are used by businesses to attract attention in a variety of public settings, including exhibition halls, retail stores, hospitals, schools, hotels, and for e-commerce live streaming.
The primary goal of the humanoid robot industry is currently productivity, not emotional expression.
A number of companies, including Tesla, are developing these robots to perform practical tasks like replacing human labor and serving as household assistants.
A future filled with these robots is still a long way off.
Reportedly, not everyone is convinced that bipedal robots are the best solution, with some experts arguing that purpose-built industrial robots will always be a more effective option for specific tasks.
It may sound like the start of a horror film, but ancient infectious lifeforms are being brought back to life.
Scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder have deliberately resurrected microorganisms that have been frozen in Alaska for around 40,000 years.
These tiny bugs, invisible to the naked eye, have been trapped in 'permafrost' – frozen earth material containing soil, rock and ice.
In controlled experiments, the scientists discovered that if you thaw out permafrost, the microbes don't immediately become active.
But after a few months, like waking up after a long nap, they begin to form flourishing colonies.
Worryingly, the microbes have the potential to unleash dangerous pathogens that could spark the next pandemic.
'These are not dead samples by any means,' warned study author Dr Tristan Caro, a geological scientist at University of Colorado Boulder.
What's more, as they reawaken, the microorganisms release carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas that fuels global warming.
Back in 2022, an ancient virus called Pandoravirus that had lain frozen in Siberian permafrost for 48,500 years was revived. Pictured, digital rendering of Pandoravirus
For their experiments, the team travelled to Alaska's Permafrost Research Tunnel – an underground passage dug through permafrost in the 1960s
For their experiments, the team travelled from Colorado to the Permafrost Research Tunnel near Fairbanks in Alaska, just south of the Arctic Circle.
This spooky underground passage was dug through permafrost in the 1960s for the purpose of facilitating scientific research into climate change.
Described as an 'icy graveyard', permafrost is a frozen mix of soil, ice and rocks that underlies nearly a quarter of the land in the northern hemisphere.
The team collected samples of permafrost that was a few thousand to tens of thousands of years old from the walls of the tunnel.
They then added water to the samples and incubated them at temperatures of 3°C (39°F) and 12°C (54°F) – which is chilly for humans but warm for the Arctic.
'We wanted to simulate what happens in an Alaskan summer, under future climate conditions where these temperatures reach deeper areas of the permafrost,' Dr Caro said.
Although the microbes 'likely couldn't infect people', the team kept them in sealed chambers regardless.
In the first few months, the colonies grew gradually, in some cases replacing only about one in every 100,000 cells per day – described as a 'slow reawakening'.
Robyn Barbato of the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory drills a sample from the walls of the Permafrost Research Tunnel
Permafrost is ground that remains permanently frozen even during summer months. Pictured, melting ice in the Arctic in spring
What is permafrost?
Permafrost is ground that’s remained frozen for at least two consecutive years – and in some regions of the Arctic, it’s been frozen for tens of thousands.
It stretches across vast expanses of Siberia, Alaska, northern Canada, and Greenland, acting as a natural deep freezer for ancient organic material.
As global temperatures rise, this permafrost is thawing faster and deeper than expected, revealing microbes, biological matter, animal bones, plants and more.
However, within six months, microbial communities underwent 'dramatic changes', forming strong communities distinct from the surrounding surfaces.
Some had formed 'biofilms' – slimy layers made from a thriving community of micro–organisms that are hard to remove.
Overall, the results suggest it could take a few months for microbes to become active enough that they begin to emit greenhouse gases into the air in large volumes following a hot spell.
But this suggests that the longer Arctic summers last, the more likely microbes will become thawed and reawaken.
'You might have a single hot day in the Alaskan summer, but what matters much more is the lengthening of the summer season to where these warm temperatures extend into the autumn and spring,' Dr Caro said.
Thawing could lead to the release of the permafrost’s enormous reserves of greenhouse gases CO2 and methane, an even more potent greenhouse gas.
These compounds may have helped them survive freezing, dark conditions for millenia.
The ability of the microbes to survive for so long before reawakening is triggering concerns that the melting Arctic could release a deadly disease, new to humanity.
One possible defence is that permafrost–based microbes need to find a host in order to survive and spread, like an animal.
Fortunately, permafrost is remote by nature because it is found in high–latitude and high–altitude regions.
Although the viruses are not considered a risk to humans, scientists warned that other viruses exposed by melted ice could be 'disastrous' and lead to new pandemics.
Dr Brigitta Evengård, an infectious disease specialist from Sweden, thinks there could be possible pandemics from the Arctic that are caused by bacteria highly resistant to antibiotics.
'The two that we know could come out of the permafrost are anthrax and pox viruses, other than that it’s pandora's box,' she told Greenpeace.
KILLER VIRUSES COULD BE RELEASED FROM MELTING ICE IN THE ARCTIC, STUDY WARNS
Glaciers that are melting amid rising global temperatures could be the cause of the next deathly pandemic, a study said.
Scientists investigated how climate change may affect the risk of 'spillover' – a virus jumping to another species – by examining samples from Lake Hazen in the Arctic.
Lake Hazen, seen from above in this NASA image, is the largest High Arctic freshwater lake in the world
They found that the chance of a spillover event increases with the melting of glaciers, as the meltwater can transport pathogens to new hosts.
A warming climate could bring viruses in the Arctic into contact with new environments and hosts, increasing the risk of this 'viral spillover', the experts warn.
'Spillover risk increases with runoff from glacier melt, a proxy for climate change,' say the researchers in their paper, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
'Should climate change also shift species range of potential viral vectors and reservoirs northwards, the High Arctic could become fertile ground for emerging pandemics.'
On October 3, interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS flew past Mars. This encounter was monitored by a fleet of spacecraft studying the Red Planet.
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS in a photograph taken by the Gemini South Observatory. Source: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Shadow the Scientist
Comet 3I/ATLAS was discovered in early July. It became the third confirmed object of interstellar origin found in our Solar System. At the same time, it differs significantly from its predecessors in many of its characteristics. 3I/ATLAS is larger than Borisov’s interstellar comet and the asteroid Oumuamua, moves at a higher speed, and is most likely several billion years older than the Solar System.
On its journey through the Solar System, 3I/ATLAS will make several relatively close flybys of planets. One of them took place on October 3. On that day, 3I/ATLAS passed 30 million km from Mars.
A comet in the Martian sky in an artist’s impression. Source: Kim Poor
Space agencies decided to take advantage of this unique opportunity to learn more about the visitor from another star system. In its statement, ESA reported that between October 1 and 7, the Mars Express and TGO spacecraft orbiting Mars would monitor the comet using their cameras and spectrometers. On NASA’s side, the LRO spacecraft will participate in tracking the interstellar visitor, as well as the Psyche mission, which is heading towards the asteroid Psyche.
Current observations are very important, as 3I/ATLAS is rapidly approaching the Sun. In the coming days, this will make it impossible to track it using ground-based observatories, and astronomers will have no choice but to rely on spacecraft.
ESA observation plan for interstellar comet. Source: ESA
On October 29, 3I/ATLAS will reach the perihelion of its orbit, approaching the Sun at a distance of 203 million km. At this point, the comet will reach its peak activity. By studying the composition of the gases evaporating from its nucleus, scientists will be able to learn about the structure of other star systems. At this point, the comet will still be inaccessible to ground-based telescopes, but fortunately, one spacecraft will be in a suitable position to make observations. It is about the European JUICE mission. It will monitor the comet between November 2 and 25.
By December, 3I/ATLAS will once again be visible to Earth-based telescopes. The comet will not approach our planet. The minimum approach distance will be 269 million km, which is almost twice the distance between the Earth and the Sun.
In March 2026, 3I/ATLAS will fly by Jupiter at a distance of 53 million km. In theory, the Juno spacecraft, which is exploring the gas giant, could participate in its observations. After that, 3I/ATLAS will head off into deep space and never come back to the Solar System.
Scientists analyzing archived data from the Cassini mission have discovered new complex organic molecules being ejected from Saturn’s moon Enceladus. This is a clear sign that complex chemical reactions are taking place in its underground ocean. Some of them may be part of chains leading to the formation of even more complex molecules that are potentially biologically significant.
Enceladus geyser eruptions. Source: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
In 2005, Cassini discovered the first evidence that an ocean lies beneath Enceladus’ icy surface. Water sprays out of cracks near the moon’s south pole, ejecting ice particles into space. Some of these tiny pieces of ice, smaller than grains of sand, fall back onto the surface of the moon, while others fly away and form the E ring around Saturn.
During its mission, Cassini flew through this ring several times and analyzed it using its instruments. In particular, the vehicle detected many organic molecules in its ice grains, including amino acid precursors.
Internal structure of Enceladus. Source: Graphic composition: ESA; Surface: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/Lunar and Planetary Institute
The problem was that the ice grains in the ring could be hundreds of years old. As they aged, they could have been subject to “weathering” and changed under the influence of intense cosmic radiation. Scientists wanted to study fresh grains ejected much later to better understand what exactly was going on in Enceladus’ ocean.
Fortunately, researchers already had this data. Back in 2008, Cassini flew right through a fresh plume from Enceladus. Uncontaminated ice grains struck the CDA dust analyzer at a speed of approximately 18 km/s. These were not only the freshest ice grains Cassini had ever detected, but also the fastest.
Speed was of the essence. At lower impact speeds, the ice breaks up, and the signal from clusters of water molecules can mask the signal from certain organic molecules. But when ice grains hit the CDA quickly, water molecules don’t stick together, which has made it possible to see signals previously hidden.
Organic molecules in Enceladus’ ocean. Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech
After analyzing all the available data, scientists were able to determine which molecules were present inside the fresh ice grains. Some of them had previously been detected in the E ring, confirming that they originate from Enceladus’ ocean.
Completely new molecules were also found that had never before been encountered in Enceladus’ ice grains. These included aliphatic, (hetero) cyclic esters/alkynes, esters/ethyls, and presumably compounds containing nitrogen and oxygen. On Earth, these molecules participate in chains of chemical reactions that ultimately lead to the formation of more complex molecules necessary for life.
ESA mission concept to Enceladus. Source: ESA
This discovery is important for future missions that will study Enceladus and search for life in its ocean. ESA recently began preliminary design work on such a mission, which could be launched in the early 2040s.
Did 3I/ATLAS spark the 1977 'Wow Signal'? Same region, just days apart
Did 3I/ATLAS spark the 1977 'Wow Signal'? Same region, just days apart
Harvard astronomer and alien hunter Avi Loeb has floated a bold new idea about the legendary “Wow Signal.” In a recent blog post, he suggested that the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, now passing through our solar system, might have been the source of the mysterious radio burst picked up by Ohio State’s Big Ear telescope on August 15, 1977
The Wow Signal was recorded at Right Ascension (RA)=19h25m=291 degrees and Declination (Dec)=-27 degrees.
At nearly the same time, on August 12, 1977, 3I/ATLAS was about 600 astronomical units (AU) from Earth, some 600 times the Earth–Sun distance, or roughly a 3-day light-travel time away. Its position then was RA 19h40m (295°degrees), Dec -19 degrees.
Here’s the intriguing part: just three days before the signal was detected, ATLAS had been moving through nearly the same patch of space. The separation was only about 4 degree in RA and 8 degree in Dec, an alignment chance of just 0.6%.
If the signal really came from 31/ATLAS, its transmitter would have needed the power of a nuclear reactor, beaming directly on the 1420 MHz hydrogen line, the frequency often dubbed the “cosmic calling card.”
While it may seem far-fetched that 3I/ATLAS could have sent the Wow Signal, the object’s unusual behavior so far means nothing can be completely ruled out. Perhaps it’s worth scanning 3I/ATLAS for radio emissions.
In time, we’re likely to learn much more about whether 3I/ATLAS is simply an odd interstellar comet or something far more advanced which could catch us off guard.
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Over mijzelf
Ik ben Pieter, en gebruik soms ook wel de schuilnaam Peter2011.
Ik ben een man en woon in Linter (België) en mijn beroep is Ik ben op rust..
Ik ben geboren op 18/10/1950 en ben nu dus 74 jaar jong.
Mijn hobby's zijn: Ufologie en andere esoterische onderwerpen.
Op deze blog vind je onder artikels, werk van mezelf. Mijn dank gaat ook naar André, Ingrid, Oliver, Paul, Vincent, Georges Filer en MUFON voor de bijdragen voor de verschillende categorieën...
Veel leesplezier en geef je mening over deze blog.