July 1, 1997: Open Lines
Jul 1, 1997
1h 20m
0:00 / 0:00
Art Bell opens with a promise to answer the Air Force press conference on Roswell over the coming evenings. He announces that a July 4th presentation in Roswell will feature isotopic ratio tests on crash debris, with scientists from major universities prepared to argue the material is manufactured and not of Earth origin. He also teases developments in Phoenix he is not yet ready to reveal publicly.
Callers bring a wide range of topics to the table. An ex-NASA contractor who worked television operations at Johnson Space Center during mission STS-80 offers to share information about video handling procedures. The original provider of the STS-80 footage calls in to discuss anomalous objects captured during the shuttle mission. Other callers debate the Mars dust storm threatening Pathfinder, the Mir space station crisis, and the ongoing mystery of Mel's Hole, with a caller who owns land near the alleged site weighing in.
Art also reports on bizarre weather sweeping multiple continents, from unprecedented flooding in Switzerland to unseasonably cool desert temperatures near Death Valley. He notes the dust storm on Mars is now confirmed by Reuters and mainstream outlets after initially being dismissed when he reported it days earlier.
Callers bring a wide range of topics to the table. An ex-NASA contractor who worked television operations at Johnson Space Center during mission STS-80 offers to share information about video handling procedures. The original provider of the STS-80 footage calls in to discuss anomalous objects captured during the shuttle mission. Other callers debate the Mars dust storm threatening Pathfinder, the Mir space station crisis, and the ongoing mystery of Mel's Hole, with a caller who owns land near the alleged site weighing in.
Art also reports on bizarre weather sweeping multiple continents, from unprecedented flooding in Switzerland to unseasonably cool desert temperatures near Death Valley. He notes the dust storm on Mars is now confirmed by Reuters and mainstream outlets after initially being dismissed when he reported it days earlier.
Key Moments
Reuters confirms the Mars dust storm threatening Pathfinder: Bell reads a fresh Reuters wire confirming what he had reported the previous night and been mocked for: an unexpected, season-early dust storm is filling Valles Marineris and moving toward Pathfinder's July 4 landing site, with University of Colorado scientists saying it could escalate to a global event.
Roswell July 4 isotopic-ratio test announcement: Bell rereads the press release for the July 4, 9 a.m. Pearson Auditorium press conference: a researcher from a major university will present isotopic ratio tests of Roswell debris that allegedly prove the recovered material is manufactured and not of Earth origin.