2011-07-03 International Business Times (U,CRYPT,R,bf,crash.UF,p,mars,un,N.Redfern)

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Author of "NASA Conspiracies" Nick Redfern Photo Credit: Nick Redfern
International Business Times - Nagesh Narayana - Jul 3, 2011
His research took him to Puerto Rico in search of the blood-sucking Chupacabras; to Roswell, New Mexico to explore the truth behind the famous UFO crash of 1947 and to Wisconsin in pursuit of the infamous Mothman. Originally from England, he runs the ...
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'NASA Conspiracies': Not all controversial, says Nick Redfern
By Nagesh Narayana | July 3, 2011 7:40 AM EDT

Author of "NASA Conspiracies" Nick Redfern Photo Credit: Nick RedfernIn his book NASA Conspiracies British journalist and author Nick Redfern has raised many questions on the space agency efforts in exploring outer space, including the Apollo moon landings, the controversial face on Mars, UFO sightings and other secret space programs.

Redfern has also pondered the allegations that NASA has a secret space program that runs parallel to its publicized missions and has access to technologies far in advance of the space shuttle and space technology. The reported discovery by NASA of some intelligently-designed structures on the surface of the Moon and Venus also form part of his book. "But that is not all: behind the scenes, there is a very different NASA; a darker and shadowy NASA," he writes.

Redfern, who has written for over a decade on issues like visit of aliens in Mexico, lake monsters in Scotland, vampires in Puerto Rico, werewolves in England, ETs, Bigfoot, and crashed UFOs in the United States, sought NASA to at least issue clarifications.

Redfern is a familiar face on the History Channel’s “Monster Quest” and “UFO Hunters”; the National Geographic Channel’s “Paranatural”, and the Syfy Channel’s “Proof Positive” and writes for UFO Magazine, Fate, Fortean Times, and Paranormal Magazine.

His research took him to Puerto Rico in search of the blood-sucking Chupacabras; to Roswell, New Mexico to explore the truth behind the famous UFO crash of 1947 and to Wisconsin in pursuit of the infamous Mothman.

Originally from England, he runs the American office of the British-based Center for Fortean Zoology in Arlington, Texas. His center probes such extinct or unknown animals as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, the Chupacabras, sea-serpents, and the Abominable Snowman.

In his new book, The NASA Conspiracies, Redfern blames high-level cover-ups by the National Aeronautical and Space Administration eversince it was established in 1958 and illustrates how it failed to tell the truth to the world about its space missions. "All the while, behind the open, friendly face of NASA is a dark and mysterious, ominous world, a world littered with high-level cover-ups," he says.

Some of the "cover-ups" that he said NASA resorted to in the past include some false claims in an effort to show technological superiority over the former Soviet Union which was billed "Sputnik crisis".

When asked how NASA will respond to his book, he said: "I don’t think NASA will have too much comment to make about The NASA Conspiracies. The book is not, I should stress, an attack on NASA. As I note, in the book I’m 100 percent supportive of NASA’s position that we did go to the Moon. And I do not believe any of the Space Shuttle accident conspiracy theories have any value to them. And where I do talk about UFO incidents involving NASA, where possible I have relied on on-the-record witness testimony and official documents that have surfaced via the Freedom of Information Act."

Here is an exclusive interview with Nick Redfern:

1. What is The NASA Conspiracies about?

The NASA Conspiracies is a full-length study of NASA’s involvement in such controversies as the Face on Mars; the issue of whether or not the Apollo Moon-landings were faked; sightings of UFOs by NASA’s astronauts; NASA’s knowledge of possible crashed UFO incidents; claims that the Space Shuttle disasters involving Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003 were sabotaged; and a whole range of X-Files-styles cover-ups and secrets concerning NASA and alien life.

2. Have astronauts seen UFOs in space?

Many of the reports of astronauts seeing UFOs in space, or on the Moon, are apocryphal and unproven beyond hearsay, but there have been claims of astronauts allegedly having encountered UFOs in space, taken photographs of them, and even filmed them. The challenge for us, as researchers, is to try and get hold of data that would undeniably prove such a scenario.

3. Were the Apollo Moon‐landings really faked?

No, I do not believe the Moon-landings were faked at all. This is one of the major conspiracy theories leveled at NASA. However, it is a conspiracy theory that I believe is totally lacking in any validity. It’s very clear that there are solid answers to the questions that have been raised about the Moon-landings, and I do believe we did go to the Moon. In other words, my book is a study of conspiracy theories relating to NASA, but I do not believe all the conspiracy theories are valid. And the Moon-landing controversy is a perfect example.

4. Is the so‐called Face on Mars evidence that Mars was once inhabited by a long‐extinct Martian civilization?

My personal belief is that the Face on Mars is indeed artificial. Although, admittedly, there is no hard evidence to prove that. However, a number of respected researchers, including the late Mac Tonnies, who I interviewed for The NASA Conspiracies, have offered strong arguments suggesting the Face represents an ancient structure carved millennia ago by now-extinct, indigenous Martians.

5.What does NASA publicly say about the UFO subject and the Face on Mars?

NASA’s view on the Face on Mars is that it is simply a large, natural Mesa. NASA’s overriding opinion is that the Face is not artificial, and they tend to view the issue as something along the lines of people seeing faces in clouds. NASA’s stance is that because there might be superficial similarities with a human face, that this is how the human brain interprets it. This is a phenomenon known as pareidolia – the brain’s attempts to attribute meaning to random stimuli.

6. Is NASA guilty of hiding the truth about UFO visitations to the Earth?

I do believe that there are certain UFO cases that NASA has had involvement in, about which we don’t yet have the full story. I would suggest that the Kecksburg UFO crash story of 1965, and a similar event that reportedly occurred in Bolivia in 1978, are indicative of NASA having deeper knowledge of the UFO phenomenon than they have publicly stated.