No, NASA isn’t running a child trafficking ring on Mars

Another day, another batshit crazy theory involving NASA: days after rumors that the US space agency has evidence proving the existence of extraterrestrial life from humanity were debunked, a new and possibly even more ludicrous accusation has been leveled against the organization.

Never mind the fact that, as the Washington Post pointed out, the atmosphere on the Red Planet is comprised primarily of carbon dioxide and the average temperature on the planet is 81 degrees below zero – NASA has somehow found a way to establish a child-trafficking ring on Mars.

At least that’s what activist and former Reform Party presidential candidate Robert David Steele said Thursday during an interview on Alex Jones’ radio show, the newspaper reported Saturday. The children involved in the interplanetary trafficking ring, Steele claimed, “were kidnapped and sent into space on a 20-year ride” and had “no alternative but to be slaves on the Mars colony.”

Why smuggling the abducted youngsters to Mars would have taken two decades is unclear, for as Space.com explained, the 33.9-million-mile voyage to the Red Planet takes just 6-9 months using modern-day propulsion technology. Nonetheless, Steele – a “CIA insider,” according to the show – seemed convinced of his claim’s validity, and Jones was not dismissive of the accusations.

“Look, I know that 90 percent of the NASA missions are secret, and I’ve been told by high-level NASA engineers that you have no idea,” the host, who has claimed that the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax and who helped spread false allegations that the Clinton campaign had been linked to a child-sex ring at a Washington DC pizzeria, responded. “There is so much stuff going on… clearly, they don’t want us looking into what is happening.”

‘No humans on Mars,’ according to NASA spokesperson

Despite the seemingly ludicrous nature of these claims, Guy Webster, a spokesperson for Mars exploration at the agency, took the time to issue a formal denial, telling the Daily Beast, “There are no humans on Mars. There are active rovers on Mars… but there are no humans.”

As Space.com pointed out, this is not the first Mars-related conspiracy theory to make the rounds on the Internet – though it may very well be the most unusual. An unusual landform discovered by the Viking 1 mission in 1976 garnered attention due to its resemblance to a face, and images that were recently captured by the Curiosity rover have been said to depict various animals, including crabs, lizards, rats and squirrels, the website added.

The alleged child-trafficking ring is the second wild accusation to be leveled against NASA over the last few weeks. Late last month, a YouTube video posted by an individual claiming to be part of Anonymous accused the agency of hiding evidence proving the existence of alien life.

The video, however, featured out-of-context comments made by NASA science director Thomas Zurbuchen back in April during a public congressional hearing. While Zurbuchen did say that the agency was “on the verge of making one of the most profound, unprecedented discoveries in history” during that hearing, he was actually discussing the recent discovery of distant planets and organic chemicals on Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus, not extraterrestrial life.

The Washington Post reached out to NASA following the posting of the video, and was told via email that there was “no pending announcement regarding extraterrestrial life.” Similarly, they reached out to the agency for comment on the Martian child-trafficking ring accusations but had not received a response as of press time.

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Image credit: NASA

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