December 26, 2003: The Importance of Mars - Richard C. Hoagland

Art Bell welcomes Richard C. Hoagland to discuss the so-called Mars curse, examining why more than two-thirds of all spacecraft sent to Mars have failed. Hoagland presents his theory that a small, determined group may be sabotaging missions to prevent public discovery of what he believes are buried Martian cities, citing incidents of deliberate contamination during the Mars Observer launch and the mysterious removal of ground-penetrating radar from a U.S. mission after a high-level diplomatic meeting between George Schultz and Soviet Foreign Minister Shevardnadze.

The conversation turns to the European Space Agency's Mars Express, now safely orbiting the Red Planet with a radar instrument capable of probing three miles beneath the surface. Hoagland shares a memo from a senior JPL engineer on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter project urging close attention to the European radar data, suggesting it could reveal subsurface features as dramatic as the ancient Roman roads discovered beneath the Sahara by shuttle radar.

Art and Richard debate why these potential discoveries matter to everyday people, exploring how confirmed Martian ruins could reshape humanity's understanding of its own origins. They discuss the theological and spiritual implications, referencing the Brookings Report and a conference at the University of Wisconsin where religious scholars confronted the possibility that humanity itself may have roots on Mars.