The Why Files: Operation Podcast - 542: Martian Mysteries: The Phobos Incident, Monoliths, and Ancient Ruins

Episode Date: April 15, 2024

In 1989, the Soviet Union sent two probes to explore Mars and its mysterious moon Phobos. The mission took a shocking turn when the Phobos 2 probe suddenly malfunctioned and captured a puzzling final image before going offline. As astronomers studied Phobos more closely, they discovered the tiny moon harbors some extraordinary secrets. Strange anomalies on its surface have led to theories that Phobos may be artificial or even hollow. Join us as we investigate the perplexing case of Phobos 2 and the enigmatic features of Mars' moon. We'll examine the evidence, discuss the possibilities, and uncover the truth behind one of the most fascinating mysteries in our solar system.

You sailed beyond the horizon in search of an island scrubbed from every map. You battled krakens and navigated through storms. Your spade struck the lid of a long-lost treasure chest. While you cooked a lasagna. There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover best-selling adventure stories on Audible. At the height of the space race in the late 1970s, the Viking probes successfully landed on Mars,

collecting pictures, data, and samples from the red planet. It was so successful that Soviet scientists wanted their shot at glory. But their focus wasn't on Mars. It was on its moon, Phobos, named after the Greek god of fear. After all, if NASA could land on Mars, landing on one of its moons should be easy, right? Well, it turns out, Mars' largest moon

was right to be named after the Greek god of fear. Because as barren as the landscape looks, as impossible as it is to live there, something does. And that something does not want to be seen. Scientists and astronomers have long debated the potential for life on Mars. When the first probes landed on the surface, the outlook for finding life wasn't good. The landscape was barren. The atmosphere a reddish-green haze. This did not look like a planet that could support even the simplest life forms.

However, after further study study opinions have changed as i've shown on this channel nasa has been taking some creative license with their photography link below to the video about mars and the nasa cover-up right the martian atmosphere is actually bluish gray, not green or red. And the surface of Mars used to be a lot like Earth, covered in vast oceans of water. Liquid water, just like Earth. As you know, the Earth has a spinning iron-nickel core that creates a magnetic field. This field protects us from solar wind and radiation. Billions of years ago, Mars had a similar core, which gave it similar

protection. But eventually, the Martian core stopped spinning, and without the protection of its magnetic field, solar wind stripped away most of the Martian atmosphere. The reason there's water on Earth is because our atmosphere is actually pretty heavy. When Mars lost its atmospheric pressure, its water evaporated into space. Well, most of its water. There's still water frozen in the Martian ice caps. Scientists have even discovered organic compounds in Martian rocks, compounds that are the building blocks of life.

So, if there are signs of life on Mars, what about its moons? Could there be life there too? Well, Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, both named after the sons of the Greek god Ares. American astronomer Aesop Hall discovered them in 1877. Now, Phobos is the larger and closer of the two moons, but large in this case is misleading. It's only about 14 miles across.

For comparison, our moon is 2,000 miles wide. Phobos is also oddly close to Mars, only about 5,000 miles away. Our moon is 200,000 miles away. Phobos is covered with massive craters and dents. The surface is dull with no atmosphere. It's not round at all. It's been called a giant potato. Phobos looks more like an asteroid than a moon.

And for a long time, astronomers thought Phobos and Deimos were asteroids that got captured by Mars' gravity. Not only do they almost perfectly resemble asteroids, they appear to be made out of the same type of rock. But their orbit is so oddly close to Mars that scientists from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, proposed another theory. Instead of being trapped asteroids, Mars' moons might have formed in a similar way to our moon. Oh, you mean created by aliens

in a distant part of the galaxy and brought here to serve as a base of operations? Uh, no, I'm talking about the giant impact hypothesis that a large object collided with the Earth, and the moon was formed by the debris from the impact. Uh, yeah, that's not how the moon was formed. Well, I have my suspicions too, but let's stick with Mars. Okay, but if you throw out more cockamamie theories, you're gonna hear it. I know, but you're going to like the theory about Mars. We'll stay.

If an asteroid strikes a planet hard enough to create debris, a moon can form, or in the case of Mars, two moons. And there's scientific evidence to back it up. Just like Mars, scientists have found inactive signs of life on the tiny moon. Possible remnants of microorganisms or DNA, a.k.a. the building signs of life on the tiny moon, possible remnants of microorganisms or DNA, aka the building blocks of life, Martian life. Okay, you're right. I like this theory. According to one of the lead scientists at JAXA, Phobos is an ideal natural laboratory. If Martian life once existed and was widespread elsewhere on Mars, the chance that its dead remains exist also on Phobos is, in my opinion, relatively high.

This is because numerous small asteroidal impacts on Mars eject Martian surface material, and the ejecta is relatively easily transferred to Phobos. Another scientist on the team had a similar thought. In my opinion, of all the chances for finding life as we know it in the solar system, the surfaces of Mars and Phobos are our best bet. Phobos is a time capsule of ancient Mars. If ancient life existed on Mars, its moons could be the key to unlocking the red planet's secrets. In fact, Phobos could be the key to unlocking many secrets. Even though it's smaller and less symmetrical than our moon, it has one surprising similarity. Like our moon,

Phobos might be hollow. You sailed beyond the horizon in search of an island scrubbed from every map. You battled krakens and navigated through storms. Your spade struck the lid of a long lost treasure chest. While you cooked a lasagna. There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover best-selling adventure stories on Audible. You sailed beyond the horizon in search of an island

scrubbed from every map. You battled krakens and navigated through storms. Your spade struck the lid of a long-lost treasure chest while you cooked a lasagna. There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover best-selling adventure stories on Audible. In the 1960s, Soviet astronomers started noticing Phobos' orbit wasn't exactly normal. It was orbiting faster than Mars was spinning, meaning it was lighter than expected. Much lighter. A faster orbit also means the gravitational field was extremely weak. So weak that a 150-pound human on Phobos would weigh only two ounces.

Oh, how much would you have weighed on Phobos when you had your Covid weight? I don't want to talk about that. The idea of Phobos being hollow gained traction in the 1950s and 60s. Russian astrophysicist Yosef Shlovsky and even Carl Sagan proposed that the moon's unusual orbit could mean only one thing. Phobos must be hollow. Not only that, but Shlovsky hypothesized that Phobos must have a thin sheet metal structure on its outside.

In other words, Phobos is artificial, unnatural, alien, whatever you want to call it. And other scientists agreed. Dr. Fred Singer thought that a hollow Phobos was a perfectly sound explanation. If the satellite is indeed spiraling inward, as deduced from astronomical observation, then there is little alternative to the hypothesis

that it is hollow and therefore Martian-made. Fred Singer wasn't a nobody. He was the science advisor to President Eisenhower. Even NASA admits the Moon is odd. In their words, the interior of Phobos could be a rubble pile barely holding together. One Phobos researcher said the Moon appears to be held together by a kind of mildly cohesive outer fabric. Outer fabric like Martian sheet metal? Could be. Whatever it was, astronomers and scientists from around the world

were beginning to suspect Phobos was hiding some secrets. And the Russians? They wanted in. In July 1988, the Soviets launched two probes, Phobos 1 and Phobos 2. These were sophisticated spacecraft equipped with state-of-the-art instruments. The mission was to study the Martian environment and gather detailed images of Phobos' surface. And it wasn't just the Soviets who wanted this data. The mission was backed by 14 other nations, including the U.S.

But the Phobos mission got off to a rough start. Before Phobos 1 could gather any data, an operative on Earth entered the wrong command. The probe turned away from its source of power, the sun. Before Phobos 1 could gather any data, an operative on Earth entered the wrong command. The probe turned away from its source of power, the sun. Someone fat-fingered the probe. Yep. Fat-fingered the probe. Stop it.

No controls here. Nope. With no power and no radio contact, Phobos 1 was lost to space. But Phobos 2 was working perfectly. For a few months anyway. However, on March 28, 1989, just as Phobos 2 was preparing to make its closest approach to Phobos, something unexpected happened. It started going haywire. The probe's signals weakened, and it began acting strange. Instead of maintaining its steady course, the probe suddenly began spinning out of control. The control center couldn't explain it.

This was space. Things don't randomly start spinning. Unless they're hit by something. They scrambled to maintain contact with the probe, but no success. Phobos 2 sent back one final image. Then everything went black. After days of failed attempts to reconnect with Phobos 2, the mission officially ended.

The probe's sudden failure was allegedly caused by a computer malfunction. Allegedly? Well, before it failed, Phobos 2 had been sending data to Earth. The last transmission from Phobos 2 contained a series of perplexing images. And the last image Phobos 2 sent to Earth provided proof that it didn't fail because of a simple computer malfunction. Phobos 2 was attacked by a UFO. After the mission ended,

the Russian government kept the majority of the photos secret. But this was a multinational cooperative effort. The other countries involved didn't agree to the secrecy, to put it nicely. So after increasing pressure, the Russians finally released the photos taken by Phobos 2. Well, most of them. The Russians kept the last four frames of the photo dump classified. Seconds before Phobos 2 went MIA,

it snapped a photo of its attacker. It depicted a long elliptical shadow cast on the surface of Phobos. A massive oval object was hovering above the moon. The shadow's shape and size could not be explained as natural phenomena. Some scientists thought it might be a shadow or a trick of the eye, while others speculated that it was an object. Either way, something was there that shouldn't have been. But without those last four classified photos,

it was hard to know exactly what it was. Then, in 1991, Soviet test pilot Maria Popovich revealed one of those top-secret Russian photos, and suddenly, it all became clear. In the picture, a long elliptical object is clearly seen approaching Phobos. It's estimated to be 15 miles long. On a recent sightings episode, we brought you information about the possible destruction of a Soviet space probe called Phobos by a UFO.

Phobos 2 was sending back pictures, as usual, when suddenly the last picture from Phobos by a UFO. Phobos 2 was sending back pictures, as usual when suddenly the last picture from Phobos arrived. On that picture you could see Phobos, the Martian moon, and an oblong-shaped object. The object cast a passing shadow on Mars. And it's interesting to note that these photos were taken with infrared cameras. Infrared is used to measure the temperature of objects. If the object were a shadow or trick of the eye, it wouldn't appear in an infrared photo.

The question then became, what was it? And why would it attack the Phobos 2 probe and cut its transmission? Did it think the probe was a threat? Or was there something it was trying to hide? Because Phobos 2 sent back another very interesting image. It was a close-up photo of a region of Mars. And in that photo is what looks like the ruins of an ancient city.

You searched for your informant, who disappeared without a trace. You knew there were witnesses, but lips were sealed. You swept the city, driving closer to the truth, while curled up on the couch with your cat. There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover heart-pounding thrillers on Audible.

You sailed beyond the horizon in search of an island scrubbed from every map. You battled krakens and navigated through storms. Your spade struck the lid of a long-lost treasure chest. While you cooked a lasagna. There's more to imagine when you listen.

Discover best-selling adventure stories on Audible. You searched for your informant who disappeared without a trace. You knew there were witnesses, but lips were sealed. You swept the city, driving closer to the truth while curled up on the couch with your cat. There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover heart-pounding thrillers on Audible. Mars's tiny moon Phobos holds some massive secrets.

Secrets that something or someone doesn't want us to see. Over the decades, probes and satellites sent to Mars and its moons have captured images of things that don't look exactly natural. Perhaps the most famous is the so-called Face on Mars. Face on Mars, link below. The Face is located in a region of Mars called Cydonia. It was first photographed by NASA's Viking 1 orbiter in 1976. Some believe it's evidence of an ancient Martian civilization.

Others think it's a message or a marker left by alien visitors. Nyaaah, Anunnaki! Could be. According to the Anunnaki legend, not only did they stop on Mars on the way to Earth, they set up an outpost there. Anunnaki legend, not only did they stop on Mars on the way to Earth, they set up an outpost there. Anunnaki link below. Also in the Cydonia region and elsewhere, there are a number of objects that look like

artificial constructions, including pyramids, obelisks, even the ruins of ancient cities. One of the most intriguing structures is a pyramid in the region called Elysium Planitia. The Elysium Pyramid is a massive structure that rises nearly a mile above the surrounding plane. Many believe that the pyramid's shape and alignment are too precise to be a natural formation. The only explanation is that it was constructed by intelligent beings. Other puzzling features on Mars include the so-called tubes and glass tunnels that form a network across the planet's surface. Some say this is the work of an alien architect and evidence of underground Martian cities.

Phobos orbits very close to Mars. If there was a civilization on Mars at some point, you'd expect to see anomalies on Phobos as well. And we do. Phobos has deep, uniform grooves. The grooves are not only parallel to each other, but they're nearly the same width, 700 to 1,000 feet. And they're the same depth, 75 to 90 feet.

Not only that, but they're brighter than the rest of the surface, as if they were made from a different material. And over the years, new grooves have formed, grooves that suddenly appeared in between space missions. But it wasn't just the tiny moon holding secrets. The Phobos 2 probe also took pictures of what looked like remnants of a city on Mars. Again, you can see rectangular shapes and even grid-like straight lines, as if there were buildings and roads below.

Now, scientists claim these anomalies on Mars and Phobos are a trick of the eye, nothing more than pareidolia, our tendency to see patterns in random images. Phobos' craters, too, are strange. The largest is Stickney Crater, named after the wife of Ace of Hall, the man who discovered the moons. Stickney Crater is a massive six miles wide. It takes up almost half of Phobos' surface. The rim is so circular that it almost looks fake.

Believers of the hollow Phobos' surface. The rim is so circular that it almost looks fake. Believers of the hollow Phobos theory believe that the crater is the entrance to the moon's cavernous interior, caverns potentially harboring alien life. And only a short distance from the giant crater is the Phobos monolith. It's 279 feet across and 300 feet tall. It's oddly bright and oddly rectangular.

Nature likes circles and curves, not sharp edges and straight lines. American astronaut Buzz Aldrin even talks about the monolith. We should go boldly where man has not gone before. Fly by the comets, visit asteroids, visit the moon of Mars there's a monolith they're a very unusual structure on this little potato shaped object that goes around Mars once in seven hours when people find out about that they're gonna say who put that there Some say the monolith is an artifact, a remnant of an ancient Martian civilization, placed near the crater as a beacon or marker.

But there is another theory about the monolith, that it's evidence of technology. Technology shared between worlds. Because there are structures on Phobos and Mars that are almost identical to structures found right here on Earth. In the Cydonia region of Mars, along with the face and what appear to be buildings, a number of obelisks have been identified. These structures seem to be arranged in a precise geometric pattern, forming a series of interlocking triangles and hexagons, too precise and too consistent to result from

natural processes. But when you think of obelisks, you can't help but think of ancient Egypt. And you can't talk about Egypt without mentioning the Great Pyramid of Giza. There's a theory that the Great Pyramid was not a tomb or monument, that it was an ancient power plant. And there's scientific evidence to support the theory that the pyramid created electricity, a lot of it. Nikola Tesla even tried to replicate this technology. Tesla Pyramid, link below.

So now we have to consider the Electric Universe Theory. Electric Universe Theory, link, well, you know, it's below. This theory says that electricity, not gravity, is the dominant force in the universe. Everything is part of a vast interconnected web of electric currents. Every planet, every star, and every galaxy, all connected. And that electricity is all around us, everywhere. Now, if that's true, the pyramids around the world, like those in Egypt, Mexico, Indonesia, and Peru,

could have been tapping into this electricity field. This is zero-point energy, which exists in all quantum fields. It's all around us, all the time. The pyramids could have harnessed that energy and transmitted it around the world to the obelisks, which were like power substations. And if that's true, then the pyramids and obelisks on Mars could have served the same purpose.

Remember, Mars used to have water and an atmosphere, just like Earth. And maybe the monolith on Phobos was another one of those power substations, harnessing zero-point energy and delivering power to whatever's inside. And maybe when Mars lost its atmosphere, it short-circuited the zero-point energy field connecting Mars to Earth. But there's no way to tell. No scientist will look into zero-point energy field connecting Mars to Earth. But there's no way to tell. No scientist will look into zero-point energy.

Well, that's not completely true. Quite a few scientists have investigated zero-point energy. Some have even patented devices that they claim could tap into this energy field and provide free electricity to everyone, everywhere on the planet. We even have an episode coming up on these devices. But, spoiler alert, all those patents were seized by the government, and all the scientists are dead.

So what exactly happened to Phobos 2? Why did it start spinning out of control? Why did Russia keep the photos classified for so long? What are the anomalies and who or what created them? Well, like the Mars episode, this one is difficult to debunk. But not impossible. Let's start with the facts. All the mystery surrounding Phobos 2's sudden failure is true.

In 1989, Soviet scientists published a report in Nature magazine about Phobos 2's experiments. Only three paragraphs in the 37-page report discussed the probe's loss. They admit not only that it was spinning, but that it was possibly struck by something. Now, whether it was targeted by an alien ship, we don't know. But what the Russians downplayed was it was spinning before it got to Mars. Phobos 1 went dark, that's true. And Phobos 2 was malfunctioning the whole time. Because it was spinning, Phobos 2 was transmitting data all over the place.

The data that did get back to Earth was messy. The cameras weren't working properly. The giant 35-mile-long cigar-shaped UFO? It was a data glitch. But the story is worse than that. Remember how Marina Popovich came forward as a whistleblower? She said that the image of the giant cigar-shaped craft was the last one sent before the probe went dark. Well, that wasn't true. There are actually 57 more images sent back to Earth for two more days. In those images, you see a white line going down the center of every frame taken with the infrared camera, no matter what the camera was pointing at.

When Phobos took pictures of Jupiter, there's the white line again. White lines, vision dreams of passion, going through my mind, and all the while I think of you. Grandma's the flesh. I know who it is. Okay, so there was no cigar-shaped UFO. That was a glitch with the infrared lens. When we look at the same pictures that aren't infrared, there's no object. Now, most articles and videos about the Phobos 2 incident

will say that Marina Popovich was a cosmonaut who'd been to space, but she wasn't. But she really was a test pilot, and she was a rock star. She reached the rank of colonel and was the first Soviet woman to break the sound barrier. But she was also a big-time UFO believer. Now, whether she was lying about the image or just misinformed and excited, I'm not sure. But I am sure she wasn't a whistleblower. She had permission to show those photos. The Soviet government loved her. When she passed away in 2017, she was buried with full military honors. Now, also, to sell the Phobos 2 story, that clip of Buzz Aldrin talking about the monolith

is often used, but it's never used in full. It's usually cut off at, who put it there, implying that an alien race put it there. But if you listen to the full clip, he thinks it's a natural formation. When people find out about that, they're going to say, who put that there? Who put that there? Well, the universe put it there. If you choose, God put it there. The elliptical shadow is a little harder to debunk.

We do have newer images that show the shadow of Phobos on Mars, and the shapes are identical. Now, UFO believers will say this is impossible because the original Phobos shadow has sharp edges, but that photo had been retouched. Specifically, it was sharpened. If you look at the original unsharpened image, it looks exactly like current photos.

It's not a UFO. Okay, but is Phobos hollow? Yep. Probably not. Damn it. Phobos was formed when a bunch of small asteroids clumped together. So while it's not hollow, it's full of caverns and empty spaces. The grooves on Phobos are weird because Mars' other moon, Deimos, doesn't have them.

Last year, a paper was published in the Planetary Science Journal. It says the grooves are probably caused by Mars' gravity, which squeezes and pulls on the moon. The grooves are where the parts of the surface of Phobos are falling into those empty spaces, causing channels and canyons. Now, this is a sign that Phobos will eventually be pulled apart, and this is expected to happen in about 40 million years. Yeah, but what about the sheet metal skin? Well, the paper addresses this too. When Phobos is pulled and squeezed, it throws up dust.

Over millions of years, this dust settles fairly evenly around the surface. So Phobos is covered in a thin layer of skin. But it's not sheet metal, it's dust. Now, the monolith is there. Yes! But it's not an unusual feature. Monoliths like this are found all over the solar system, including our moon. Oh, built by the aliens for the space internet. But it could be aliens. I'm not saying it's not. But I am saying monoliths are common.

They could be common because they were placed there. We don't know. The pictures of the city on Mars is probably pareidolia. But until we go there, we won't know for sure. Now, the glass tubes and tunnels actually were explored, and they're not glass tubes at all, just rock formations. I get so annoyed when everything is debunked. Well, I don't know if I debunked everything, but I think I presented enough information to help you separate the facts from a lot of wrong information that's floating around the Internet. There's still so much we don't know about Mars. Regardless, Phobos is still a very interesting object, and scientists believe evidence of life could be there. All we have to do is land a probe there and check. It may be a coincidence,

but every mission to land on Phobos has failed. But we're not giving up. This September, Japan is sending a probe to Mars. And that probe is scheduled to collect samples from Phobos late next year. And that probe could answer all the questions about this mysterious moon. Unless the aliens shoot it down. Thanks so much for hanging out today. My name is AJ. That's Ecclefish. Ghost bastards, what do you want?

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Until next time, be safe, be kind, and know that you are appreciated. I play Philippians and Area 51 A secret code inside the Bible said I was I love my UFOs and paranormal fun As well as music So I'm singing like I should

But then another conspiracy theory Becomes the truth, my friends And it never ends No, it never ends I fear the crabcat and got stuck inside Mel's hole With MKUltra being only two away Did Stanley Kubrick fake the moon landing alone On a film set or were the shadow people there? The Roswell aliens just fought the smiling man

Mama told, and his name was cold And I can't believe I'm dancing with the fishes Heckle fish on Thursday nights, Wednesday day too And the werebolls have their feet all through the night All I ever wanted was to just hear the truth So the werebolls have their feet all through the night The Mothman, Sirens, and the Solar Storm still come To have got the secret city underground Mysterious number stations, planets are both two

Project Stargate and what the Dark Watchers found We're in a simulation, don't you worry though The Black Knight said a lot, he told me so I can't believe I'm dancing with the fish Heck, no fish on Thursday nights when they chase you And the wild boars all make me up through the night All I ever wanted was to just hear the truth So the wild boars all make me up through the night Heck, their feet on through the night

Hens will fish on Thursday nights when they chase you And the wild birds have their feet on through the night All I ever wanted was to just hear the truth So the wild birds have their feet all through the night Gertie loves to dance Gertie loves to dance Gertie loves to dance Gertie loves to dance Gertie loves to dance

Gertie loves to dance Gertie loves to dance Gertie loves to dance on the dance floor Because she is a camel Camels love to dance on the dance floor Because she is a camel And camels love to dance When the feeling is right On wasting time Katie loves to dance

Katie loves to dance