Within CIA Myths
Why the Mars File Cannot Prove Martian History
The Mars session is fascinating as an archive item, but it shows why unverifiable targets make weak evidence.
On this page
- What the Mars session claimed
- Why ancient planetary targets resist verification
- How spectacular examples distort the archive
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Introduction
The declassified 1984 “Mars Exploration” transcript is one of the most widely shared documents associated with the U.S. remote-viewing programme because its contents are extraordinary: a remote viewer describes pyramid-like structures, towering humanoid beings and a dying civilisation on Mars around one million years ago. The document is genuine, but the claims within it are not independently verified findings. That distinction is central to understanding why the file cannot be treated as evidence for ancient Martian history.
Within the broader history of CIA archive misunderstandings, the Mars session illustrates a recurring problem. A dramatic transcript preserved in a government archive is often mistaken for government confirmation. In reality, the Mars document is best understood as a record of what a participant reported during a remote-viewing exercise. The key question is not whether the transcript exists—it plainly does—but whether there is any reliable way to establish that its descriptions correspond to historical reality. The answer is that there is no accepted method for doing so.[CIA]cia.govMARS EXPLORATION, MAY 22, 1984The planet Mars. Time of interest approximately 1 million years BC. Selected geographic coordinates, pro…
What the Mars session claimed
The document, dated 22 May 1984 and titled Mars Exploration, records a monitored remote-viewing session in which the target was concealed from the viewer until after the exercise had begun. The interviewer eventually identifies the target as Mars approximately one million years before the present and directs the viewer to describe locations identified by geographic coordinates.[CIA]cia.govMARS EXPLORATION, MAY 22, 1984The planet Mars. Time of interest approximately 1 million years BC. Selected geographic coordinates, pro…
The transcript contains vivid descriptions rather than measurable observations. Among the reported impressions are:
- immense pyramid-shaped structures used as shelters;
- extremely tall, thin humanoid figures;
- a civilisation experiencing environmental collapse;
- references to storms, ruined landscapes and attempts to leave the planet.
The interviewer repeatedly instructs the participant to report only “raw perceptions” rather than interpretations, reflecting the protocol used in some remote-viewing sessions. Even so, the final document remains a narrative of subjective impressions rather than a record of objectively verified observations.[CIA]cia.govMARS EXPLORATION, MAY 22, 1984At this period in time now before the geologic activity, look around, in and around this area and see if…
The unusual content explains why the transcript has circulated widely online. Its official formatting and CIA release create an impression of institutional endorsement, even though the document itself makes no claim that the reported scenes were confirmed.
Why ancient planetary targets resist verification
The Mars transcript demonstrates one of the biggest methodological weaknesses in evaluating remote viewing: the absence of usable ground truth.
Ground truth refers to independently established facts against which a prediction or observation can be compared. Many remote-viewing experiments attempted to evaluate performance using contemporary locations, photographs or objects whose characteristics could later be checked. Although those studies remain controversial, they at least offered a possible comparison between claim and reality.
The Mars session does not.
Several features make independent verification effectively impossible:
- The target is prehistoric. The viewer is instructed to describe Mars around one million years ago rather than present-day terrain.
- The claimed civilisation is extinct. There is no surviving historical record against which the descriptions can be compared.
- The observations are qualitative. Descriptions such as “very large people” or “huge pyramids” lack precise, testable parameters.
- No experimental endpoint exists. There is no practical way to determine whether the reported civilisation ever existed.
Modern Mars exploration has revealed abundant evidence that ancient Mars once possessed rivers, lakes and conditions more favourable to life than today. However, no accepted planetary evidence demonstrates the existence of pyramid-building humanoid civilisations or the specific events described in the transcript. Consequently, the remote-viewing narrative cannot be validated by existing planetary science.[CIA]cia.govMARS EXPLORATION, MAY 22, 1984The planet Mars. Time of interest approximately 1 million years BC. Selected geographic coordinates, pro…
This illustrates an important epistemic problem. A claim that cannot realistically be disproved also cannot easily be confirmed. As a result, it contributes little to assessing whether remote viewing itself is reliable.
Why the session says little about remote viewing’s accuracy
The popularity of the Mars transcript sometimes creates the impression that it represents compelling evidence for psychic perception. From an evidential standpoint, however, it does almost the opposite.
A successful demonstration of remote viewing requires more than an interesting narrative. It requires a target whose characteristics can be assessed independently and a scoring method that distinguishes genuine accuracy from coincidence, interpretation or selective matching.
The Mars session lacks these features. Because no accepted reference exists for ancient Martian civilisation, observers cannot calculate whether the descriptions were accurate, partially accurate or entirely imaginative. Different readers therefore interpret the same text according to their prior beliefs rather than according to objective verification.
This differs from operational or experimental targets where, at least in principle, independent judges can compare reported details with known facts.
For that reason, the Mars transcript occupies an unusual place in the archive. It is memorable precisely because it cannot be conclusively resolved.
How spectacular examples distort the archive
The Mars file has become one of the best-known STAR GATE documents despite being poorly suited for evaluating the programme itself.
Several factors encourage misunderstanding.
Official provenance creates misplaced authority. Because the transcript appears on CIA Reading Room letterhead, many readers assume the agency authenticated its contents. In reality, the archive preserves records generated during the programme, not validated conclusions about every session.[CIA]cia.govMARS EXPLORATION, MAY 22, 1984The planet Mars. Time of interest approximately 1 million years BC. Selected geographic coordinates, pro…
Extraordinary narratives receive disproportionate attention. Thousands of remote-viewing pages concern routine operational tasks, training exercises and administrative matters. A transcript involving ancient Martians naturally attracts far more public interest than ordinary intelligence targets.
Verification is replaced by speculation. Online discussions often compare the transcript with photographs of Martian landforms or later popular theories about the “Face on Mars” or pyramid-like formations. Such comparisons generally rely on subjective resemblance rather than controlled testing and do not establish that the remote-viewing descriptions correspond to actual ancient structures.[MuckRock]muckrock.comThis is not code language. The CIA sent psychicsWalks through a sunken dream: the CIA report on life on MarsAug 15, 2017 — In 1984, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) sent a…
The result is that one of the least testable documents in the archive has become one of its most frequently cited.
What the Mars file actually demonstrates
The enduring significance of the Mars transcript lies less in what it says about Mars than in what it reveals about interpreting historical intelligence records.
It confirms that remote-viewing personnel were occasionally assigned unconventional targets and that detailed transcripts of those sessions were preserved and later declassified. It also shows that government archives can contain remarkable claims without those claims becoming accepted government knowledge.
As evidence for ancient Martian civilisation, the document remains intrinsically weak because no independent ground truth exists against which its central assertions can be tested. As evidence for the history of the remote-viewing programme, however, it is valuable: it illustrates the exploratory nature of some sessions, the recording methods used by programme personnel, and the ease with which archival preservation can be mistaken for institutional validation.
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Endnotes
1.
Source: cia.gov
Link:https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00788r001900760001-9
Source snippet
MARS EXPLORATION, MAY 22, 1984The planet Mars. Time of interest approximately 1 million years BC. Selected geographic coordinates, pro...
2.
Source: cia.gov
Link:https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/cia-rdp96-00788r001900760001-9.pdf
Source snippet
MARS EXPLORATION, MAY 22, 1984At this period in time now before the geologic activity, look around, in and around this area and see if...
3.
Source: muckrock.com
Title: This is not code language. The CIA sent psychics
Link:https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2017/aug/15/cia-life-on-mars/
Source snippet
Walks through a sunken dream: the CIA report on life on MarsAug 15, 2017 — In 1984, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) sent a...
4.
Source: cia.gov
Link:https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R000700070001-8.pdf
Source snippet
TRANSCRIPT REMOTE VIEWING SESSION 8361. (S/NOFORN) This report documents a remote viewing session conducted in compliance with a request...
Additional References
5.
Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/cnnnews18/posts/former-cia-psychic-joe-mcmonigle-claims-to-have-found-proof-of-past-life-on-mars/1213389204164054/
Source snippet
Former CIA psychic Joe McMonigle claims to have found...Former CIA psychic Joe McMonigle claims to have found proof of past life on Mars...
6.
Source: iflscience.com
Title: the cia once tried to communicate with ancient martians using a psychic 59156
Link:https://www.iflscience.com/the-cia-once-tried-to-communicate-with-ancient-martians-using-a-psychic-59156
Source snippet
The CIA Once Tried To Communicate With Ancient...Mar 25, 2021 — In 1984, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) interviewed a psychic whi...
7.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Skip Atwater
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwrDI7GvenQ
Source snippet
Remote Viewer No. 1: "Nobody Wants to Be Caught Dead Standing Next to a Psychic" | Official Preview...
8.
Source: medium.com
Link:https://medium.com/the-ai-and-i-chronicles/mars-memories-and-imprints-b5dfd13c17ee
Source snippet
May 22, 1984. Within its pages is an account of a remote viewer's journey to Mars...
Published: May 22, 1984
9.
Source: pure.rcs.ac.uk
Link:https://pure.rcs.ac.uk/en/publications/mars-exploration-may-221984/
Source snippet
Exploration: May 22,1984by M Silberschatz · 2020 — In 1984, the CIA conducted an experiment on remote viewing as part of Project Star Gate...
10.
Source: reddit.com
Title: in 1984 the cia had a psychic look back to 1
Link:https://www.reddit.com/r/HighStrangeness/comments/10fqgw6/in_1984_the_cia_had_a_psychic_look_back_to_1/
Source snippet
In 1984, the CIA had a psychic look back to 1 Million Years...In 1984, the CIA had a psychic look back to 1 Million Years B.C. on the pl...
11.
Source: gizadeathstar.com
Title: the cia remote viewed mars in 1984
Link:https://gizadeathstar.com/2019/11/the-cia-remote-viewed-mars-in-1984/
Source snippet
"Nov 15, 2019 —... remote viewing of Mars in 1984, and here's the original document: [https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP..."](https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP...")...
12.
Source: Wikipedia
Title: [Stargate]({{ ‘stargate/’ | relative_url }}) Project (U.S. Army unit)
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_Project_%28U.S._Army_unit%29
Source snippet
Stargate Project (U.S. Army unit)Stargate Project was a secret United States Army unit established in 1977 at Fort Meade, Maryland, by...
13.
Source: jasoncolavito.com
Link:https://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/the-cias-psychic-probe-of-ancient-martian-civilization
Source snippet
The CIA's Psychic Probe of Ancient Martian CivilizationAccording to the CIA document, in May of 1984, a CIA agent asked a remote viewer...
14.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Link:https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/science/sign-of-life-astral-projection-claims-pyramid-large-road-sighted-on-ancient-mars/articleshow/116676829.cms
Source snippet
Astral projection claims pyramid, large road...Dec 26, 2024 — A declassified CIA document reveals that 40 years ago, a subject used astr...
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