Editorial commentary by Stanley V. McDaniel
June 2, 1999
NASA's Promises of 1997
On November 24, 1997, six representatives of the Society for Planetary SETI Research met with Dr. Carl Pilcher, Acting Director of Solar System Studies at NASA, and NASA scientist Dr. Joseph Boyce, at NASA headquarters in Washington, DC. After a presentation of the full range of SPSR research on the Cydonia Question, Dr. Pilcher assured us that re-imaging the entire area of the Cydonia anomalies with the MGS high-resolution camera, using the camera "strip" capability on every pass over the area during the mapping phase of the mission, is now "official NASA policy."
Dr. Pilcher also stated that Glenn E. Cunningham, MGS mission director at JPL, was in full agreement with this policy and that Dr. Malin, the private contractor in charge of the MGS camera, had accepted the policy. This meeting was reported in full in the article "A Communications Breakthrough" in this newsletter. In subsequent telephone call to Dr. Pilcher after the article was published, he assured me that the account of the NASA promise as stated in the article was accurate.
These statements by a high NASA official were consistent also with what appeared to be a new "open policy" toward public concerns as articulated publicly by Administrator Daniel Goldin on several occasions. The meeting with Society for Planetary SETI Research (SPSR) scientists that November seemed to constitute a tentative recognition by NASA of the scientific legitimacy of the Cydonia question.
These events on the NASA front also were consistent with the comments by Dr. Carl Sagan in his 1995 book "The Demon-Haunted World." In that book Dr. Sagan points out that the hypothesis that some structures at Cydonia may be artificial is falsifiable, which brings the issue clearly into the "scientific arena." He also calls for the upcoming Mars missions to make a special effort to investigate the debated areas with high-resolution television cameras. If "special effort" means anything, it would have to mean that higher priorities and careful advance planning would be the rule for the Cydonia anomalies
It was expected that the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) would begin its mapping mission, including the promised strip images of Cydonia, in late 1998. The world was surprised, however, when because of delays caused by aerobraking problems, MGS was in a position to take some images in April of 1998. Among the surprises was the announcement by JPL that MGS would return three images of Cydonia, hoping to capture the Face and some of the controversial objects in the "City."
We are all familiar with what happened next. The first (and only)
image of the Face taken in April was widely circulated in the world media as "proof" that the Face is merely a mis-shapen mountain. This was the "catbox" image, a poorly processed, non-rectified picture taken from a low angle (about 45 degrees) with the lighting and shadows exactly opposite to what we were familiar with from the 1976 Viking images. As far as the other objects of interest in the area were concerned, the other two photos showed very little. Only a small portion of the "Fort," four of the "mounds," and a very small bit of the "D&M Pyramid" were captured in the images.The vital question at this point was: Will NASA consider the "case closed" on the basis of this one image of the Face, or will NASA continue to honor its promise to image Cydonia on every pass over the area once the mapping mission begins?
To assist NASA in evaluating the situation, SPSR scientists began a careful study of the new images. A report on the results of this study was submitted to NASA, with full documentation, on July 24, 1998, by Dr. Horace W. Crater of the University of Tennessee Space Institute. That report concluded:
The question of possible artificiality remains open. While at a cursory glance, using poorly processed and unrectified images, the Face may give the impression of an entirely natural feature, close analysis shows that there are a number of consistencies with the morphology predicted from the Viking images. There remains overall symmetry, possible decorative ornamentation, and other features placed in a manner consistent with a highly eroded artificially constructed object. This, in combination with the lack of data for the east side due to the camera perspective, means that we do not yet have sufficient information to invalidate the hypothesis of possible artificiality or to establish the validity of that hypothesis with regard to the Face. The lack of an image for the "Fortress" and/or one of the two other major suspect formations (The "D&M" object or the "Cliff") also leaves a significant data vacuum that can only be filled by new MGS images of those objects. Finally, the strong statistical anomaly of the small mound distribution, corroborated by independent analyses, remains unexplained.
The final recommendation in the report was as follows.
We therefore strongly recommend, in view of Administrator Goldin's strong public statements that Cydonia will be imaged until a satisfactory resolution of the issues is obtained, that NASA follow through on the policy given in our meeting with Dr. Carl Pilcher, which was that the suspect area would be imaged with the high resolution camera on every camera pass over that area during the mapping mission of 1999-2000.
The MGS is now in its mapping mission. It appears to be impossible to predict reasonably far in advance exactly when passes over the Cydonia area will occur. We also do not have any information on passes that may have already occurred. (The passes would not be consecutive, but at spaced intervals.) No new images of the Face or the other objects have been released. As far back as the planning for the failed Mars Observer, which the MGS replaces, Malin Space Science Systems claimed that all the main objects of interest are "in the data base" to be imaged. But so far nothing -- and no indication when there might be something.
In the eleven months that have followed the issuance of the SPSR report on Cydonia to NASA, no response from NASA to the SPSR report has been forthcoming. Concerned about this, the president of SPSR, Dr. Crater, wrote to Dr. Carl Pilcher of NASA asking for a response. No answer was received. Dr. Crater wrote again, asking whether NASA would keep its promise. Still no answer has been received. NASA apparently now remains silent on the Cydonia Question.
It seems apparent, given NASA's refusal to respond to the SPSR report or to answer letters of inquiry, that NASA has decided the Cydonia Question is settled for good by the washed-out, badly processed single image of the Face taken in April 1998. Was Administrator Goldin's assurance of a more open policy toward public concerns an empty promise? Was Dr. Pilcher's confirmation of his promise to re-image Cydonia on every pass over the area by MGS during the mapping mission insincere? In the absence of replies from NASA we have no way of knowing. But the prognosis seems negative.
It is important in evaluating this situation to be aware of the fact that the means for imaging Cydonia reside in hands bureaucratically removed from NASA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is technically a branch of Cal Tech, and as such is a private non-government institution. The imaging is done by a private company, Malin Space Science Systems, contracted to JPL. From the beginning of this issue, Dr. Michael Malin and his associates have been vehemently resistant to any demand on them to devote time to imaging the Cydonia objects. This has extended even to apparent disinformational material on Dr. Malin's web site (discussed elsewhere in this newsletter). Another close associate and supporter of Dr. Malin was reported to have physically threatened one of the SPSR researchers at a scientific conference. This small cadre of individuals, made up primarily of geologists working with JPL, has done everything possible to discourage exploration of the Cydonia Question and to resist efforts by NASA headquarters to do otherwise.
Why is this? The predominant theory one sees scattered about the internet is that this is part of a conspiracy to suppress information about alien existence. It has been speculated that NASA actually has many pictures of the Face and knows full well that it is an artificial construct. But after six years of intimate involvement with this subject, and after meetings with JPL and NASA officials, I do not personally believe in the conspiracy theory. Not long ago I found that the contract for the Mars Observer (now MGS) involved close to 10 million dollars for Malin Space Science Systems. The present plan for Mars Exploration involves repeated missions over a ten to twenty year period, focused primarily on geological exploration. For each mission, various groups of geologists under contract will be the beneficiaries of power, public exposure, and huge amounts of funding.
If on the other hand it became clear that the probability of artificial structures on Mars is very high (as SPSR research has already conclusively determined), it seems the focus of investigation would shift radically. The emphasis would fall to an accelerated manned mission to Mars. Archaeologists and perhaps biologists would assume an increasingly important role. It would be the manned mission (Johnson Space Flight Center), not JPL, that takes the driver's seat. All those fat contracts and the drawn-out, long sequence of geological missions might evaporate in the rush to find out what is really there.
It is well known in history that interests of money and power are driving forces when it comes to political maneuvering. Although I cannot claim to know for certain what is going on behind the closed doors of Dr. Malin's office, at present my best hypothesis is that the Cydonia Question has been, and is being, stonewalled for such motivations. I would hope that NASA will soon show us otherwise.