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The Suppression of UFO Technologies and Extraterrestrial Contact 391
dence of changes in the canal system, and the changes appeared to have
been altered by design. This 1954 Mars "expedition" was primarily planned
to settle the question. It is quite possible that some members linked the
numerous flying saucer sightings that had been widely reported since 1947,
to the renewed and intense interest in Mars.
Because the government was heavily guarding the UFO evidence, the
National Security Agency made it a top priority to use its influence to
keep check on the developments of the Mars patrol study. It was imperative
that planetary speculations and press statements be kept in a totally
ambiguous light. The censors were especially concerned about the Mars
patrol because of the caliber of open-minded men who were involved with
the project. They included Dr. Seymour Hess, a meteorology expert who
was on record as having sighted a UFO; Dr. Harold C. Urey, a prominent
astrophysicist who was genuinely curious about life on other planets; and
Dr. Slipher, who was following in the footsteps of the pioneer Percival
Lowell. Dr. Slipher assigned himself to make observations from the best
location possible—the Lamont Hussey Observatory in South Africa. It
had the largest refracting telescope in the southern hemisphere, and Mars
would be passing directly overhead each night during opposition. And
before the project got underway, Slipher publicly stated that if he found
proof of life on Mars, he would announce it to the world.
The Mars Expedition took 20,000 photographs and confirmed the presence
of both the canals and vegetation. The canals did not meander at all
like a river would; they followed great-circle courses, which are the shortest
distance between two points on a globe. Many planetary astronomers
had speculated previously, that if photographs showed that the canals
were along great circle paths, it could be concluded that they were the
work of intelligent beings. The scientists were getting exceptional pictures
also, because the Lowell Observatory was using a new electronic camera
that could amplify faint markings, and photograph in one-tenth of a second
to prevent atmospheric turbulence from blurring the details. One
canal was found to run straight as an arrow for 1,500 miles, something
that no natural water channel could do.
Dr. Slipher brought enough photographs back from South Africa to
prove that the canals were real, and man-made. While providing abundant
vegetation growth alongside their straight-line courses, the canals also
proved to be the common link between the green oases. An intricate
pumping system seemed to be the only explanation when considering the
distances involved. More than 40 canals and 15 oases were photographed
in the first week. 7 But the Mars Committee reports never became public,
and they were therefore unknown outside a very limited part of the astronomy
community. The new findings were privately logged at the observa-