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Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Blue Humming Light Reported Near A Home In Florida


This is a report to MUFON, by a witness in Gainesville, Florida, of a bright blue, humming light seen during a storm on June 25, 2010.
Was it what is known as ball lightning, or was it something else?



MUFON Case #    23958
Event Date:    06/25/2010
Time:             18:45
Location:    Gainesville, Florida
Shape:        Flash
Summary:    Blue humming light

Report:
Let me first start by saying I didn't know whether to post this on MUFON as I'm really not sure it's characteristic of a typical sighting.

We were experiencing a typical Florida downpour with some occasional thunder and lightning, but nothing out of the ordinary. I'm not really sure whether we had lost power at this point as things got a little out of the ordinary.

I was sitting in our living room with my family and we all heard a loud humming noise that carried with it a certain vibration indicative of a powerful energy source. It sounded like a transformer humming, but much, much louder. The sound lasted about 10 seconds and happened 3 or 4 times and was coming from what seemed to be directly outside the south side of our house.

Our house is nowhere near a transformer. From where we sat during this, we were two rooms away from the exterior of the south side of our house, about 30 feet away. As the humming noise began again, I finally decided to walk to a room closer to the sound.

Keep in mind it's summer around 6:45pm, so there was plenty of light outside, even though the storm had darkened it a bit. This room has blinds on the windows and as I approached the window the humming was still happening, but what was so odd, and the main reason for me posting this is, even with it being daylight, a bright bluish, neon looking light was being generated somewhere very close to the exterior of our house with such an intensity that it overpowered the natural light and created a bluish glow that shined through the cracks in the window blinds.

It's almost as if it was dark outside and a car pulled up outside the window, shining it's headlights into the window. I pulled the blinds to the side and saw a powerful blue glow coming from the side of my house. The window I viewed it from did not have a direct view of the light source, but I did see it emanating around the corner.

My house is a couple hundred feet from power lines, but they are in the opposite direction from where the light was coming from. Looking out the south facing window, the power lines are approximately 200 feet to the west and this light was definitely coming from the south east side of my house. The light source appeared to be generated within feet of the exterior of my house and couldn't have been more than 5 feet off the ground.

There were no lightning strikes taking place while the humming noise and lights occurred, so I know it wasn't lightning. We don't have a transformer next to our house. The only thing over there is my AC unit.

After the storm passed, I walked out there and there was no evidence anything had happened, and my AC was undamaged.

I've lived in Florida most of my life and have seen some serious storms, but never, never have I seen a sustained blue glowing light shine through my window. With the amount of energy it must have taken to generate that light, I expected to either have major electrical damage or at least have black marks on my house, but there was nothing.

By far one of the oddest experiences I've ever had.

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UFO Researcher/Experiencer comments on James Carrion and his new venture, "CUT"


(I received this email from a colleague/friend.)
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Hi Sunny,

Just wanted to let you know what I think about the newest Ex-MUFON crony to fall asleep at the wheel. I am sure that  you have been following the James Carrion flip. He has started his own research group, with the "preconceived" intent of proving the UFO phenomena is and always has been a Cold War hoax, constructed in the dark rooms of secret governments... to use UFOs as a cover for black projects, and convince other governments that your government has weapons of unearthly power.

He has clearly stated that he is not taking donations from any one, to help him undertake the work needed to prove his point to the world. That simply tells me that he is either guilty of skimming funds from the books of MUFON, for his entire stint with that organization.... or... he is being funded by the GOVERNMENT! Doesn't matter though. He is simply one more Coward to allow himself to be bought or blackmailed, and his actions should be considered Criminal from this day forward!

Too many Americans are Sleep Walking, and simply refuse to open their eyes, when the real threat is not what the UFOs can do to harm us. But, what our government is doing to harm planet Earth... and the entire human race. Including, trying to make us believe that they are also responsible for every single UFO incident in the history of mankind. I have a hard time believing that our government could have been responsible for the glowing 300 foot wide saucer, seen by the Sailors aboard ships in the Columbus fleet in 1492, that rose from the sea and blasted past them against the wind, at over 100 miles per hour!.... Explain that one Mr. Carrion!

I am truly sick of people saying they are committing their Life's Work to finding out the truth, no matter what it might be, concerning the ever present UFO phenomena. When they already have preconceived notions and affirmation of their theories. What ever happened to the Golden Rule, that simply states...

Every Investigative Researcher should always keep an open mind, and never jump to conclusions, or alter the facts to distort their findings and deceive the masses, into believing what YOU want them to believe. As a researcher, your job is simply to unearth the facts and leave the conclusions, and the assumptions to the people you are reporting to.

James Carrion keep on sleep walking! Because, you might just end up being squashed under the pad of a Mother Ship's landing gear!... or should I say: "End up being burnt to a crisp, by the laser beams of our government's secret Mother Ship Holographic Imaging systems!"

My name is Dakota Roi and yes, I am a believer in the existence of UFOs. Because, I have experienced events where I know for a FACT, that our government could not have possibly been involved. Unless they have flying ships that can morph into seven different shapes and forms, within a split second. Go from standing still and accelerate to fourteen thousand miles an hour, in a split second.... and then come back to rest at a complete stop, just as quickly. Control the weather, by making the clouds from the distant horizon, flow like water to a specific location "Around the Morphing UFO", and do this within 60 seconds or less.

Mr. Carrion, if you are trying to tell me that what I experienced was simply a  super advanced government Holographic simulation. Then, how could they possibly beam these crystal clear images through an overlaying cloud bank. Create the snowflakes drifting down on my skin, from the clouds that formed in seconds... and produce the lightning bolts with super loud thunder, that accompanied this giant illusion that hundreds of people witnessed!

If our government can do all of this, just to convince a few hundred or so ordinary people, that UFOs are as real as they want us to believe they are. Then, I have all the faith in the world, that our government can easily fix the Gulf Oil Leak in 60 seconds or less!

James Carrion, you are a joke and if you want to waste your time researching cold war documents and interviewing cold war combatants, just to prove that UFOs are a bi product of this era. Then, please stay out of my way, as I plan to keep on researching this phenomena that has existed for hundreds if not thousands of years!

I want to thank you for your service to the UFO community and I still respect your opinions. But, if you want me to take the same sleeping pills and board the same "Cop Out" train. I can't do that. I can still sleep at night, knowing that I have not been corrupted by the super rich elite, who are pulling the puppet strings of our purchased government. Yes, we have incredibly advanced technology. But, I don't think it evolved because of the Cold War UFO hoax designers... and I don't think mankind in general will ever benefit or become better stewards of this planet. Because of this technology. I think the top 100 Wealthy Elitists are sipping their wine and dining on caviar, while laughing at every society on this planet. Because, they know that people like you are only helping the government puppets, convince humanity that we are all hallucinating and need to go back to becoming zombies of our video games, or drones of our dull nine to five jobs.
 
UFOs are real and some of them could very possibly come from outside of Earth's biosphere. That is the reason I am a researcher/investigator and those are the facts I will do everything in my power to uncover... So help me God! The Golden Rule still applies to my work ethics though. I will never investigate UFOs with any preconceived ideas.

My experiences are mine alone, and they will never influence my decisions to only find the facts, that further my beliefs. I know that many UFOs can be explained, and I also know that many UFOs are definitely military in origin. But, I also know that the few unexplainable UFOs are not Cold War anomalies.... and I definitely know that ALL UFOs are NOT what James Carrion is trying to convince us they are!

Dakota Roi

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James Carrion Announces new organization

On his blog-site, "Follow the Magic Thread", James Carrion announced the formation of The Center for UFO Truth (CUT).

Mr. Carrion claims that "CUT is not a UFO organization nor is it affiliated in any way with Ufology. Instead CUT is a historical research organization focused on examining the question long ignored by historians - was the UFO subject purposely created by the United States and its allies as part of a cold war operation and perpetuated to this day for national security reasons?"
Read More

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Note: I am a supporter of MUFON, their members and the fine work they do.  However, MUFON has seen it's share of turmoil here in the last year or so, and it is my hope they resolve their issues and get back to investigating UFO sightings, rather than all the in-fighting, bickering, firing and resigning that has taken place recently.

An organization that can't tolerate questions and concerns by it's leaders (as in the now former Texas State Director, Ken Cherry), and address those issues within, then that organization is doomed.

I had planned to hopefully add my name to the ranks of MUFON Field Investigators but have decided to join with another newly forming organization, that I will soon announce.  How many others have considered becoming members and/or field investigators, only to be put off by all the nonsense?

As MUFON's International Director, I thought that James Carrion's job was to lead the investigations and not be the chief "debunker".  Adding to this, the discrepancies in other areas of MUFON's internal workings, it was only right that Mr. Carrion step down.

And what of The Center for UFO Truth?  Well, I believe that if it is not a UFO organization and is not affiliated in any way with Ufology, then it's name is misleading.  Isn't that what Mr. Carrion has been doing all along?

S. Williams, Sky Watcher.


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Monday, June 28, 2010

Photos of Unidentified Object Over Osasco, Brazil





MUFON Case # 24001
Date:06/27/2010
Time: 15:00
Location: Osasco, Brazil

Report summation:

On Saturday, June 27, 2010 the witness was in front of his home in Osasco, Brazil, when the witness observed an unidentified flying object in the sky. The witness watched for approximately 20 minutes before using a Sony DSC-H7 camera with zoom 15x optics.  The shots were then zoomed in at 76X.
Witness reports that reports that to the naked eye, the object appeared white but in the photos the object appears a brilliant gray. 
The witness has no idea what this object is but seeks to find out.

Original Photos:
View 1
View 2
View 3

Note: To see original report, please click on case number.
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Saturday, June 26, 2010

A Pause

A big "thank you" to all those who sent best wishes for my recovery.  That means a  lot to me.
I'm still a bit sore but getting around much better now and will make a full recovery very soon.
I appreciate you all.

SW


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Original post:
I apologize to my readers for not posting reports recently, but I had major surgery this week and am now recuperating at home.  I promise to be back at full throttle in the next couple of days.



Meanwhile, keep your eyes on the skies and report those sightings.


SW

Monday, June 21, 2010

Daylight observation through telescope, of disc-shaped UFO

MUFON Case #  23843
Date:    06/19/2010
Time    18:04
Location:    Ajax, Ontario, Canada
Summary:    Small disc observed through (daylight) telescope, not a plane s-se.

Report:
I am an experienced astronomy hobbiest, using a telescope I observed an oval disc, looked metallic in color, definitely not a plane, or commercial airliner. Through telescope my wife and myself could make out an oval shape which changed colors,

it was very small in the telescope, but had a definite oval shape, moved without sound.

I thought it could have been a satellite, (but these are very hard to see in daylight hours) but the trajectory was not in a linear path, and using Starry Night Software it was confirmed that no satellites were scheduled for the time in question.

Not sure what is was, and just wanted to get this reported in case others saw the same thing. While using the internet I noted a similar object was observed in Texas on June 17, 2010.

This is the first time in 30 yrs I have ever seen anything that I couldn't immediately explain.

Not as exciting as the Bollide I saw a few years ago, but this was definitely more strange.

Note: Sighting has not yet been investigated.
* Depiction by SW

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Woman claims close encounter with "Grey Alien"

MUFON Case #  23852
Date:    11/30/1995
Time:   03:20
Location: Kalona, Iowa
Summary: Grey alien encounter...

Report:
I was awakened out of a deep sleep to open my eyes and be staring into the face of a very dark looking alien - who seemed to be laying horizontal on my bed facing me. The look & shape of its head & features were the "typical grey" type alien with very large, slanted almond eyes, a tiny mouth & chin, and a very large cranium. The only difference is that it seemed much darker, and as I looked at it, the corners of its mouth turned up in what seemed to be an evil smile.

I was so horrified at this sight, I could not make a noise. I did not feel that I could even reach out to wake my husband in the bed, as this alien was between my husband and I, and I did not want to touch it. So I closed my eyes and began intensely praying to God. I am a strong believer in God, and this is my natural reaction to any challenging situation, as God is always faithful to take care of my needs. But because of my horror, I could not bring myself to open my eyes again for what seemed like 20 minutes. It could have been shorter, or even longer, I had no way of checking. But I did finally open my eyes and it was gone.

I heard and felt no noise, or movement on the bed, even though it seemed to be on top of the mattress. This experience is very real to me even to this day. I know it was something I actually saw, and not just a dream. Unfortunately, I do not keep a journal, so I do not know the exact date this happened.

I live out in the country, with the closest neighbors a few blocks away. I came across your website for the 1st time today, and thought I would share my experience, as others have done.

Note:  This case has not yet been investigated. 

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Sunday, June 20, 2010

Child has encounter with an unknown entity in Hueysville, Kentucky



Although this is not a UFO sightings report, or typical alien sighting and it sounds more like a Bigfoot encounter, some think that Bigfoot sighting are frequently connected to UFO sightings.

This is a recent report, which was submitted to MUFON, by a parent who claims their son had an encounter with a bipedal ape-like being.


MUFON Case #   23841
Date:    06/16/2010
Time:   13:00
Location:    Hueysville, Kentucky
Duration:    00:02:00
Entity Type:    Ape-like
Summary:    Third type encounter with unknown entity.

During the week between June 9th and 15th, every time I was in my yard at night I would begin to hear sounds like something big was moving through the thick foliage that surrounds my yard. I live in a remote area and my closest neighbor is 1/4 mile away. With my experience hunting and with animals (I am a reptile breeder) I knew that this entity was not hunting or showing any fear because of the way it moved, it wasn't trying to be stealthy. I have an outside dog and during the early morning hours she would begin barking, but would not leave the porch.


My son was playing in the backyard when he heard a rustling noise over the embankment at the edge of the yard. He moved closer to the edge and pulled back the leaves. He stated that he saw something with white glowing eyes. He also stated that the object was climbing toward him up the bank. He says that it was not a deer, elk, bear, or other type of animal, it did have hair. It did not have a "nose", but it sniffed him. It was tall when it stood up. It stared at him and then backed away, it did not make any noises. My son ran to the other side of the yard and preceded to play, he didn't come to my wife and tell her anything. He was not fearful of the entity.

That night he was sitting with my wife and me and began to tell his story with great excitement. What is strange about that is he will not volunteer any info on his own. He is not a "talker" and will not even tell what happened during the course of his day if you ask him. His story has been consistent each time he has told it. I have tried to confuse him and lead him another way during the conversation, but he always sticks to the same story. My initial thoughts was it was a bear, since they have been moving through the area. I got online and pulled up pictures of different animals and asked him which one he saw and he could not pick any animals from the pics. I used local wildlife pics and exotic (gorillas, orangutans, etc.) and nothing was anything that he saw.

Note:  Please be aware that this report has not yet been investigated by MUFON, or any other investigation group.

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Saturday, June 19, 2010

Texas Residents Report Strange Objects In The Skies

In this first report, a McKinney, Texas witness and his wife see a cigar shaped object and capture it on video.  Is it a plane, or something unknown, the witness wants to know.

Images captured from video by SW

MUFON Case #  23823
Date:    05/24/2010
Time:   19:58
Location:    McKinney, Texas
Shape:    Cigar
Summary:    Silver cigar with fin

Report:
My wife and I were in the park with the dogs. Luckily I had just got my camera back from the repair shop.

I first notice it, then called my wife's attention to it. It seemed lower when I first saw it and I could see that it was a cigar shape silver in color and had a short fin sticking out of the mid section of the craft. I couldn't hear any noise.

By the time I got my camera out of my truck, it was a lot higher and further away. It was hard to keep it in the frame because the camera has no view finder only a small screen to view the image and I was just pointing it in hopes that I was getting something most of the time.

For some reason I looked like a white pill shaped object on the video? I do not know if this was a plane or something else. I almost did not submit it because of the doubt in my mind.

Is this a common image of a plane when videoed with a digital camera? Or is this something else?

Video download

Note:  There is the sound of a jet in the video and the object appears to create a contrail at the end, however, it is not clear whether the jet sound is coming from the object, or another aircraft located elsewhere in the sky.
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In this second report, a McAllen, Texas resident and his wife, who claim they are highly trained aerial observers, report witnessing an oval, or disc-shaped UFO hovering in the final-approach path of the local airport.

MUFON Case #  23822
Date:    11/14/2008
Time:    18:11
Location:    McAllen, Texas
Shape:    Oval
Distance:    One mile or less
Summary:    I witnessed, along with my wife, a motionless, medium colored silver object, approx 30 to 35 ft. in diameter, approx. 800 to 1,000 ft. altitude in a clear cloudless sky. After several minutes it shot to the So.East at great speed.

Report:
While travelling east down Farm to Market Road ( FM 676 ) just after sunset, toward the city of McAllen I noticed a large greyish silver colored oval shaped object sitting motionless in the sky. The altitude of the object was aprox. 800 to 1,000 feet, I thought it was odd as it was sitting in the final-approach flyway for McAllen Miller International Airport and was not moving... The object was clearly visible and quickly directed my wife's attention to it and asked her what she thought it might be...after a few moments she replied she did not know and became somwhat excited. My wife as well as myself are highly trained aerial observers and have lived and participated many years in aviation programs ...I pulled over to the side of the road and we both watched the object for about a minute. It quickly shot off at great speed to the southeast toward the McAllen Airport just before a Continental Airliner approached for landing. I quickly called a good friend who works at the airport and asked if there had been any PIREPS or other reports of a brightly colored object to the northwest of the airport...He later called and said there were none. I later asked several other aviation friends if they had heard or seen anything strange in the late evening sky, northwest of the airport...they all replied NO !!

Note:  Only spelling corrections have been applied to these reports.  To see original reports, please click on either MUFON case number. -SW
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Thursday, June 17, 2010

Unidentified Object Videoed In Ottawa, Ohio

A reader sent in this video, taken of an unidentified flying object near Ottawa, Ohio. The video was taken the early morning of June 8, 2010.




Video Link

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Witness claims orbs and a metallic object seen during "Wings Over Houston" Air Show




Video Link





Video Link



Though two oddities do appear in the sky in the first of these videos, it's possible that in at least one of the many videos captured that day, someone may have briefly recorded them more clearly. If you find such a video, or there is another witness to this event, please contact me.

I must also add that the P51 Mustang is a passion of mine. To me, there is no sound sweeter, no sight more beautiful, than a P51 flying over. You can view them in the second video. -SW


Here below, is the report posted to MUFON:

MUFON Case # 23797
Date: 10/31/2009
Time:  Approx. 15:00

City: Houston, Texas
Shape: Sphere
Distance: Over one mile
Summary: 2 white orbs with a third metallic object floating / dancing in between them

Report:
I was at the Wings Over Houston Airshow Oct 31 2009....the sighting occurred during the Blue Angels performance at around 3pm. Weather was sunny and clear with unlimited visibility.

During a formation loop, I first notice the two white orb like objects just beyond the Blue Angels at the apogee of the loop. These orbs where directly over the airfield and stationary. A third metallic object appeared in between the white orbs and seemed to fall in a tight spiral and then zip back up to repeat the downward spiral.

I asked my father if he saw what I was seeing and he confirmed it. We discussed what if could be, but the altitude was too high and they remained stationary.

More and more people in the crowd were starting to notice the objects too with one person even asking me if I knew what it was. I start to notice that a lot of the people around us where pointing at the orbs and not even paying attention to the F-18s screaming by.

I starting texting my mother about what I was seeing...maybe taking a about a min and in that time the metallic object was gone...but the white orbs remained.... I continued to watch and notice that the crowd had gone silent and people were packing up...it was a creepy feeling to think that maybe the presence of these orbs where making people leave..but it was also at the end of the airshow....

After about 10 min these orbs seem to jump in tandem further down the airfield....not move or float..but jump...first as in a line..then another jump diagnolly... I was responding to my mothers text when I looked up again and notice that only one orb remained and it had moved further down the field.... then it seem to drift further south till it was out of view...

Note: Corrected for spelling.  See original report by clicking on case number.


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Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Photo of Cigar-shaped UFO over the UK


MUFON Case # 23785
Date:    08/11/2007
Time:    08:00
Country:    GB
Shape:    Cigar

Report:   
I was sitting in my garden having a coffee.I thought it was a light air craft or helicopter. I first noticed a bright light It came from the west not very fast,It seemed to be tumbling,The light was the sun reflecting from the nose cone. It did a 90 degree turn to the north.It must have gone over or near to Newcastle upon Tyne air port.There was no wind. I was excited I got my camera but it was hard to find it in the view finder,I knew it was going to cross my roof so I locked my camera on the edge of my roof and took 2 pictures

See original photos:
Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3

Note:  This is an amazing photo.  If this is real, it is one of the clearer photos I've seen, of a UFO in flight. -SW

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Monday, June 14, 2010

Bright UFO seen shooting beam over El Paso, Texas

In this recent report to MUFON, the witness claims to have seen a bright UFO that shot a green beam of light down over the city of El Paso, Texas.
Note: A few corrections have been made to this posting.  To see original report, please click on case number.


Depiction by SW

MUFON Case #  23742
Date:    06/13/2010
Time:    21:18
Location:    El Paso, Texas
Shape:    Diamond, Disc, Star-like
Duration:    00:04:00
Summary:  Saw a ufo race across the Sky drop tractor beam and race back across sky and disappears

Report:
It was a ordinary Sunday night in El Paso, Texas.  Around 9:15pm, my father, my brother and I were driving back home, heading west.  We were driving in the neighborhood area near home, when my father then noticed a bright light in the sky and we all focused in on it. It was moving very rapidly through the sky, way faster than any airplane, or even jet could go and covered the whole sky from north to south in just a couple of seconds.

As we watch it, it began to get bright then dim much like pulsing I guess you could say, then it began to hover toward the south west area of town. As we watched trying not to lose sight of it, a green beam began to beam from the bottom of it. I noticed at the bottom of it where the beam was, the object appeared to be pointed more like a diamond. The object only had the beam out for about 3 seconds at the most and then just disappeared instantly.

As we began to search for it, it then appeared toward the west where it originally appeared. Then it raced across the sky to the north where it disappeared for good.

As we arrived at some stop lights we noticed a border patrol helicopter that was unlit and following the path where the object seemed to fly through. We then raced home to try and see if we could get the object on video or binoculars.  Unfortunately there was no more activity in the sky but we all tried to believe what we just saw.

We knew for sure it wasn't a airplane, jet or helicopter, or possibly some experiment from Ft. Bliss, which is the army base here.  I guess you could say this whole experience was like being in War of the Worlds.


See Original drawing by witness

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Sunday, June 13, 2010

Japanese Hayabusa Asteroid Mission Back On Earth



Japanese Hayabusa asteroid mission comes home

BBC News- A capsule thought to contain the first samples grabbed from the surface of an asteroid has returned to Earth.

The Japanese Hayabusa container hit the top of the atmosphere just after 1350 GMT, producing a bright fireball over southern Australia.

Scientists are now searching the landing zone in the Woomera Prohibited Range to try to locate the capsule.

It had a shield to cope with the heat of re-entry and a parachute for the final drop to the ground.

"We just had a spectacular display out over the Outback skies of South Australia," said Professor Trevor Ireland, from the Australian National University, who will get to work on the samples

"We could see the little sample return capsule separate from the main ship and lead its way in and just had this magnificent display of the break-up of Hayabusa," he told BBC News.

However, it may be some hours before a recovery team is able to find the container's exact location and confirm it came through the atmosphere undamaged.

The Hayabusa mission was launched to asteroid Itokawa in 2003, spending three months at the 500m-long potato-shaped space rock in 2005.

The main spacecraft, along with the sample-storage capsule, should have come back to Earth in 2007, but a succession of technical problems delayed their return by three years.

Even now, there is still some uncertainty as to whether the capsule really does contain pieces of Itokawa.

Analysis has shown the Hayabusa spacecraft's capture mechanism malfunctioned at the moment it was supposed to pick up the asteroid rock fragments.

However, Japanese space agency (Jaxa) officials remain confident of success.

They say a lot of dust would have been kicked up when Hayabusa landed on the space rock to make the grab, and some of this material must have found its way inside the probe.

On the journey home, the Hayabusa team had to work around communication drop-outs and propulsion glitches.

But each time an issue came up, the scientists and engineers working on the project managed to find an elegant solution.

Just three hours before the spacecraft began its plunge into Earth's atmosphere, it pushed the sample capsule out in front.

The main spacecraft would have been destroyed during the descent, accounting for most of the spectacular light show south Australians would have seen in the nightsky.

The container, on the other hand, was equipped with a shield made from carbon phenolic resin which is capable of enduring temperatures that were expected to reach 3,000C on the re-entry.

Radar tracking and a beacon in the container itself were being used by the recovery team to locate the parachute drop-point.

The requirement to avoid all earthly contamination means the capsule will not immediately be moved from its landing site. The mission team's safety and sterilisation protocols will not permit the capsule's evacuation and transfer to Japan for several days.

When it does leave, the container will be delivered to Jaxa's Sagamihara curation facility for analysis. It could be some months before scientists are able to say with confidence that Hayabusa did indeed capture fragments of Itokawa.

"You hope for grams of sample but you can make do with much less than that," observed Dr Michael Zolensky who worked on Nasa's Stardust comet sample-return mission.

"On Stardust, the entire sample return was on the order of thousands of nano-grams. That was thousands of grains, each of which weighed about one nano-gram; and one of those grains you could spend a year studying," he told BBC News.

Such grains would provide new insight into the early history of the Solar System and the formation of the planets more than 4.5 billion years ago.

Professor Ireland said no rocks on Earth could provide this information because they had been recycled many times.

"If we look at anything on Earth it has been thoroughly through the ringer; it's been messed up by plate-tectonic processes and geochemical processes. So if we want to look of what our Earth was made of, we have to leave Earth. That's the importance of Hayabusa and going to Itokawa."


A 'PILE OF RUBBLE' known as ASTEROID 25143 ITOKAWA

See more images at Space.com
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UFO landings have been proven, says advocates


Advocates Say UFO Landing Proved

ANGEL FIRE, N.M., June 3 (UPI) -- Believers in visits to Earth by alien spacecraft say they have hard evidence of landings in a pasture in a sparsely populated area in northern New Mexico.

The Alliance Studying Paranormal Experiences, based in the small village of Angel Fire, claims the region has received multiple visits, the Sangre de Cristo Chronicle reports. Alliance President Janet Sailor calls the area a "UFO hot spot."

The latest discovery was last year when Judy Piper, an Angel Fire accountant, discovered circles on land she owns in the Moreno Valley
outside town. She reported the find to Sailor, and last weekend, Dee Gragg, a New Mexico State University professor and assistant director of the state chapter of the Mutual UFO Network, came to Angel Fire to discuss the circles.

Gragg said the important question is what kind of craft landed in the valley. He regards the question of whether there was a landing as answered.

At a meeting Saturday, he showed slides of the circles. Gragg described them as most likely the footprints of several small ships, either unmanned probes or carriers of small aliens.

Source

Note: I found this on United Press International, in the "Odd News" department.  Who would have thought...

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Friday, June 11, 2010

Fast walker Over Texas- June10, 2010

Note:  This is my own personal sighting for June 10, 2010- SW

I saw a Fastwalker last night.
We drove up to our house, just after 10:00 p.m.  My spouse and I could hear a jet engine, relatively close; it was very loud.  We looked around but could not locate the source of the sound, however, the noise indicated it was trailing towards the East at a high rate of speed.

As the sound of the jet engines faded away, my spouse noticed a light in the sky, due south of our position, at approximately 80 degrees.  It was traveling due North and was the brightness of a star.

This light was moving at a high rate of speed and appeared to be just inside our atmosphere.  As it moved to 90 degrees (directly over our heads), it made a slight course correction and veered off to the North/Northwest, a difference of about 5 degrees.  Until it changed course, we just assumed it was a satellite.



We are used to seeing jets at 30,000 to 35,000 ft. AGL and can clearly make out their navigational lights, even at that altitude (on a clear night like last night), however, this light was constant and did not flash, strobe, or blink in any fashion.  It was a solid, star-like light, moving at the same rate, as if we were seeing the International Space Station, which we have watched many times.

I would have thought nothing of it, until that 5 degree course change.  I came inside and pulled up heavens-above.com but did not find any satellite, that would have crossed over our home in North Central West Texas, at 22:15 hours.

It wasn't a satellite, jet or other known object.  Since it reamins unidentified, it is classified as an unknown.

My personal report-SW

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Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Lights over Kent Island, Maryland

I received this email today:

Hello,
You said in your post that you saw the lights around midnight so I'm guessing you meant June 9 (today) rather than the 10th.  I live on Kent Island on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  I went outside around 1:30 this morning and it was pitch black....no other lights on anywhere.  I looked up in the sky and all of a sudden I saw a single very bright light.  It started to dart and zig zag through the sky at an incredible rate of speed.  Then it would stop and "blink" and change direction and zig zag again.  It was joined by another light which did the same thing.  They did not act in tandem and went in different directions changing direction at least a dozen times.  This was in the eastern sky.  I don't know if there were any other lights/objects because I couldn't take my eyes off the ones that I could see.  There were no curves or arcs in their flight pattern just linear lines which, as far as I'm concerned, would have required a method to change direction.  Sometimes the light went up, then to the right or left then down at varying degrees of angle and sometimes the two lights crossed each other's path. The speed was incredible.  Is this similar to what you saw?

Note:  Sorry about the date, as it slipped past me.  As some of you might not know, I am located in the heart of the "Lone Star State", Texas and I'd be hard pressed to get from here, to "there" and back, overnight. My transporter is broken. ;-)

Did anyone else see these incredible lights?  If so, email me and I will post your account, along with entering your report into our database.  Thank you!

-SW


 

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Orange lights over Prince William County, VA


This report was received via email and is posted  "as is", with no corrections. -SW

(1st email)
I saw weird lights in the sky in Prince william county VA

See my posting on Yahoo, "orange lights in the sky, prince william county VA  June 5, 2010

I have two of them on video but they are not real clear and move quickly, the file is two large to upload on email...but I posted the ones I saw in almost the exact formation from a video I found on youtube.

(Posted on Yahoo)
Did anyone else see 8-12 bright orange lights in the sky in western prince william county in Virgina June 5, 2010 similar to the ones in this youtube video?
Thank God I was not home alone and there were other people who saw them! it was FREAKY!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQbZvAID8wI

We live in such a populated area, someone else had to have seen it!!


(2nd email)
The first night the lights were white and we watched them for around twenty minutes.  They mimicked spotlights, but they could not have been due to the way they moved across the sky and they changed shapes.

The second night my friend came in and got me, when I went outside there were about 8-12 orange lights, holding there position, as they moved they moved at the exact same time and kept the same spacing.  I am a construction project manager and cannot think of anything that would look and move like these things.  They seem to hover, but when they moved they moved fast.  We live near Dulles International Airport and I find it hard to believe with all the planes in the air, that the lights were not seen by other people.  We live in a a VERY populated area.

The lights were noticed between 8:30 and 9:00, I dont know how long they were there before we noticed because we were inside.  The orange lights only stayed visible for about 3-4 minutes.  The lights moved in a South West position.  I did not notice a wind but when the wind blow it usually comes from the South near the wood line.
Has anyone else reported these lights in my area?  I had a gentlemen in England see them the same night around 11:00, but I am in the US!
Thank you,
Name withheld

Note:  The photo is a video capture of the YouTube video the witness refers to.

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Monday, June 7, 2010

Ghost Hunters Capture Photo of Unidentified Object














Three ghost hunters were conducting an investigation at a cemetery in Richland, Missouri, when they captured something quite unique and 'ghostly', though not the Bob Marley type.

It's also rare that ghost hunters report to the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), though it has happened before.

Here is that report,  in it's entirety (with spelling corrections).

To see the original report and photos, click on the links provided.

MUFON case # 23649
06-05-2010 at 22:39
Richland, Missouri

On the evening of Saturday June 5th our paranormal group decided to do a investigation in a cemetery near Richland Missouri in Pulaski County. It was just the group leader, his wife, and myself that night. We were having the usual investigation and were at first glance getting a lot of orbs, with a couple of really cool face pictures.

While at the cemetery I saw a shooting star shoot straight down. The night was clear with some clouds in the distance producing heat lightning. My friend was using a camera that had an infra red attachment. He has a better camera then I do that is 10megapixel.

We spent about 45 minutes at this place then moved on to the next cemetery down a series of dirt roads. While there all three of us noticed a constant humming noise at this cemetery. It was not the interstate as when you live by a road there are occasional breaks in the noise.

We finished up the investigation at the second investigation and headed back to the group leader's house. We uploaded our pictures to our respective computers and proceeded to go through the evidence right then and there. About approximately ten minutes into the review of evidence. I hear "What the hell is that?!?" coming from the group leader. I got up and, his wife got up from the computer desk and headed over to his desk and looked at an unusual object hanging in the sky among the trees. This was unlike anything I had ever seen before.

We realized that this photo was taken in the first cemetery. The picture that was taken in the same spot and in the general same direction before had no such object in it. It was invisible to us. While we were in that spot we had to be no more then 25 feet from the object and the group leader speculates that the object was hovering about in the tree tops. Observing us.

Also noticed in other photographs are humanoid looking faces with two black stripes painted upon their cheeks.

It is also worth noting that the group leader and his wife did a pre-visit to the graveyard about two weeks ago. When we arrived he commented that there looked to be several dirt patches that were not there previously.
Were the aliens investigating us investigating the cemetery? Did they follow us to the other cemetery and was that the constant humming we heard? We may never know the true answer.

Original Photo 1
Original Photo 2

Note: I have cropped the original photo and enhanced the object.
If you look closely, it appears to be behind some trees in the foreground, yet partially "in" the background trees.
The object also appears to be semi-transparent.  Perhaps a double exposure, or stranger still, something trans-dimensional?

It looks vaguely like a cement bucket but I'd appreciate feedback on this.  Please email me if you have any idea as to what this could be.


This story can also be found at Phantom Universe.
-SW

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Sunday, June 6, 2010

Strange Lights In the Sky Over North Georgia Mountains Reported

I received this report via email today.  If anyone in North Geogia,  Southern Tennessee, or the northeastern portion of South Carolina happened to see the same object as reported, please contact me via email

I also wish to thank the witness for reporting.
Thank you.- SW


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June 10, 2010:  North Georgia, USA - Last evening just around midnight EST, I was out walking my dog and no sooner had I closed the door behind me than immediately we (the dog and I both) noticed a strange bright light overhead that seemed to be streaking across the sky.  At first I thought it was a shooting star, but it didn't behave like any shooting star I'd ever seen.  Even my dog seemed to see it and stood perfectly still while we stared at the sky - not usual behavior for a 10 month old pup who's usually chomping at the bit to get out and go for his late night walk.  Then as I watched the light seemed to suddenly halt. almost instantly and became a flashing light similar to the sequence of a beacon on an aircraft but it only hesitated for a few seconds, then sped up again, instantly taking off at warp speed and streaked off.  There was no sound at all, no roar of jet engine and no sonic boom as you might have expected with such fast acceleration, then it just disappeared over the horizon headed in a southwesterly direction. 

We live in a small community of townhomes and condos on the lake shore in the far northern Georgia mountains and have grown accustomed to fighter jets from Dobson AFB in ATL flying on maneuvers from time to time but there is no mistaking them from any other aircraft when they streak by rattling the nerves of onlookers, and sending a chill down your spine with their sonic sounds.  This was something totally different, silent and strange as it seemed to accelerate without hesitation and then hover and become a flashing light that seemed to rotate for just a few seconds then take off again without sound or hesitation.  There were others out on their balcony nearby, as I could tell only by the faint sound of their voices, but it was so dark that one could not see them.  If not for the late hour, I might have gone over to call up to ask them if they too had seen the strange light, but I lost my courage and decided I'd go online the next day instead and do a search to see if anyone else had reported seeing what I did. 

The odd thing was that it seems to coincide with the "swirling lights" reported over Australia last night, but I wouldn't characterize what I saw as a "swirling light" and I only saw one.  I'm just curious to know if anyone else saw what I did.  Being married for 20 years to a commercial airline pilot, I have heard some of the stories of sightings and know all too well, that if you could get pilots to talk, you'd be stunned to find that so many of them have seen anomalies or UFO's but agreed with the flight crew not to report them rather than risk having the FAA order a psychiatric  - evaluation or pull their certificates. 

There, I've reported it; that's all I wanted to do is document what I saw.  If anyone else can corroborate my sighting, I'd love to read about it on this site.

Name Withheld

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Spiral "UFO" Photographed Over Brisbane, Australia - June 5, 2010




MUFON Case # 23621
Date:    06/05/2010
Time:   05:50
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Summary:  Spiral UFO over Brisbane Australia

Report:
I saw a spiral in the sky @ 5.50am 5 June 2010 Brisbane. It was about the size of an orange and had a bright light at the centre and a spiral but it wasn’t spinning. It travelled across the sky and disappeared over the horizon after 2 min.

1. Where were you and what were you doing at the time?
We where in Munna Street Wilston Brisbane facing South about to head of for a bike ride.

2. What made you first notice the object?
Looking ahead you couldnt miss it. It was huge.

3. What did you think the object was when you first noticed it?
I have never seen anything like it before, it was mesmerizing, so much so I didnt even think to video it on my phone.

4. Describe the object and its actions and motions.
It had a very bright light in the centre and 5/6 clockwise spirals which travelled about 270 degrees around the center and faded off.

The spiral travelled from SSW 210, over our heads to 90 west and disappeared over the horizon.

The spiral did not rotate but moved across the sky at speeds slightly slower than an aircraft.

As it approached the horizon in the west the shape changed as if we where looking at a spiral from behind, the spiral was more cone like in appearence.

It looked similar to the one in Norway but the spirals did not rotate around and around the center like that one.

The morning sky was still black and crystal clear. The moon was visable with no halo around it. Stars could also be seen.

5. Describe your feelings, reactions and actions, during and after sighting the object.
Just felt as if it was the coolest thing I had ever seen. And a bit of WTF!

6. How did you lose sight of the object?
It disappeared over the horizon.

Sorry images are average taken from a mobile phone, #1 is the original and #2 I tried to lighten.

Original photos
Photo 1
Photo 2

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MUFON Case # 23623
Date:    06/05/2010
Time:   05:48
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Summary: UFO with spiral seen over Brisbane

Report:
A police officer took these two photos from a mobile phone at 5:48am EST after observing an object travelling North East across the sky above North Brisbane, Australia. The object was described as having a bright centre with a spiral emanating from it. The source compared the object with the Norway sighting in December 2009 only the centre was brighter and more defined. The object was observed for about 5 minutes by more than one person before disappearing on the horizon.

Original photos
Photo 1
Photo 2

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Friday, June 4, 2010

UFO Mail Call - June 4, 2010

It's time to check the mailbag.
Here are 2 emailed reports that I have recently received.


UFOs and Lights in Sky

May 2010, White flashes of light in night sky, around 2 and 3 in morning.  Huge, horizontal flashes. Coming from western horizon to north-east direction. 

While cutting shrubs around 2 in afternoon saw two elongated disk in trail, very close together for speed they were traveling . As if there is a speed control that high up.  Have never seen air craft go that fast or seen anything so large that high up. It was out of any normal flight pattern, had to be barely in our atmosphere.

Sky very active , in many ways. Wouldn't believe it unless you catch it.   Try not to look up.  Not a fan of the unexplained. Like all the Ps and Qs in an organized reliable pattern. 

Wish we new what they were and if they are our military or projects of independents or whatever the truth of the action is in the skies. With independents now allowed to work on space craft and NASA taking a back set we won't know who or what nation they could belong to. Freaky thought.

*          *          *

Tall entity seen in Scotland

I was sleeping downstairs with my youngest child (the other kids upstairs). Well, it only happened twice and it was two nights running. I was almost asleep, the door was shut and I just felt this presence staring at me - I turned to look and it was very frightening for me - it was very tall, human looking, wearing all white but modern clothes like a white tracksuit with a hood over 'his' head - he was almost up to the ceiling in height and looking down straight at me - his face was hard to see and almost a luminous greenish colour? I gasped in surprise and turned around and back round to look at him and he was gone.

When I was gasped and was frightened, it (the being) kind of looked shocked, as though I should not have been afraid of it but I think anyone would be, as it was so tall.  At first I thought it might be a burglar, as it looked quite human expect for the height of it and from what I saw of the face, it was luminous and looked like he was wearing goggles - really odd!  Funny thing was, I went straight back to sleep after seeing him, which I also thought was quite strange next day!  The exact same thing happened the next night - but never again since.

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Thursday, June 3, 2010

Witness captures video of orange lights over Austin


MUFON Case #   23596
Date:    05/21/2010
Time:    23:30
City:    Austin
State:    Texas
Summary:    blinking, orange lights in triangular formations

Report:
I live in Austin, TX and I work downtown. It was Friday night and I got off work at about 11:00pm. I hung out around work for a bit with friends and and headed home at about 11:30.

I walked around to the back of the building and noticed a formation of 7-8 orange lights moving slowly, making no noise at all, to the southeast and low. They emerged from behind a skyscraper heading north, so I pulled out my camera and started filming. They crossed just overhead of a full moon, creating a beautiful shot.

I got about 45 seconds of footage and stopped for a better angle. When I looked up again, they were gone. I only wish that I would've captured them vanishing.
See mpg video here

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Alien message in a coffee cup?

Strange things happen and sometimes we're left to wonder, 'why me'?  That's exactly where I find myself, right now.


(Click on image for larger view)


October 23, 2009 - It was early morning, when I poured coffee into a ceramic cup I had only used a couple of times before.  Later on, I started to get another cup of coffee and noticed strange dark lines inside the cup.
 
Normally, cups won't have a coffee stain build-up unless it has sat for some time, or been used a lot without washing.  This was not the case.

I immediately grabbed a paper towel and started to wipe the cup out but stopped when I realized that inside the cup, there appeared to be strange symbols, or writing of some sort.  I held the cup to allow sunlight to illuminate the interior.  Yes, the symbols were really there.


I took photos of the inside of the cup and even drew the "letters".  I've searched, trying to find out what these symbols are, why they appeared in my coffee cup and what message the symbols represent.



I sent the drawing and a photo of the cup to a friend who is familiar with ancient texts and is an expert in forensic handwriting.  He suggested, "some of the symbols are similar to Hellenistic glyphs (ancient Greece) though there were many dialects and glyphs in different city states and these would be cursive style."

And so the mystery continued, until I recently discovered this:

French archaeologist and explorer Marcel Homet, discovered these symbols among the Brazilian megaliths of Pedra Pinta, during his explorations in North Amazonia. These glyphs were engraved more than 10,000 years ago.
(Publication: The Sounds of the Sun, by Neuville Sperman, London, 1963)

According to what I've read, it's suggested that aliens known as "Ummites" came to Earth thousands of years ago and influenced humankind.

Source

The Two Types of Aliens Mentioned:

UMMITES

Humans claiming to hail from the general area of Wolf 424, some 14-plus light years distant from the Earth-Sol system, and possibly having ancient ties with the ’Lyran’ colonies in that the Ummites (from the planet Ummo) are like the Lyrans-Pleiadeans said to be ’Scandinavian’ in appearance, and therefore may tie-in with the so-called ’Nordic’ or ’Blond’ societies. They reportedly work closely with the Vegan humanoids. The Ummites are extremely telepathic.

They, very much, believe in the existence of the soul and in a Creator God. At the age of 13.7 Ummite children leave their families for teaching centers where they are prepared for adult life. They make practical use of at least 10 dimensions of reality and are aware of far more. They say one of the reasons they are able to travel such far distances in such a short time in their space craft is that they use folds and warps in the space continuum. They have bases on Earth in eight other countries.

*
VEGANS

Relatively peaceful and gentle humans descended from refugees from the ’Lyran Wars’, who work closely with other refugee-colonists now living in the Pleiades, Wolf 424, and elsewhere. Often described as "dark skinned Orientals" similar to the native residents of the nation of India. The Vegan technology is about 250 years ahead of the Pleiadians, and they are also in contact with the Dal universe and are being assisted by them. All these civilizations are guided by non-physical beings who sit on the Andromeda Council.

The Vegans are darker in skin color than the Lyrians with higher cheekbones and more triangular faces. The Vegans also helped to colonize star systems such as Altair, Centauri, Sirius, and Orion, among others. Andromeda is a large spiral galaxy , the closest to the Milky Way at a distance of 2.2 million light years. Altair lies around 15 light years from earth. The Altair civilization is quiet and contemplative, and is given to peaceful philosophic pursuits. They are not currently involved in space exploration and they strenuously object to the Lyran involvement in Earths evolution.

Source

*          *          *

The mystery continues

Though closely resembling some of the symbols found by Marcel Homet, there is still uncertainty. I am still seeking answers, for something I feel I should know.

Are these symbols the letters and words of an ancient alien race?  If so, why me, what do the symbols mean and what are they doing in my coffee cup? 

Note: I once owed a ceramics shop and have made many ceramic cups.  I've never seen anything like this before.  The cup in question has lettering on the outside of the cup but there is no possible way it could have bled through.  In fact, the printing on the outside of the cup is on the opposing side and the glaze is intact, with no 'crazing' or scratches.

After taking photos of the cup, I put it in a plastic ziplock bag and have put it in a safe place.  I recently examined the cup and the letters are still clearly there.


If anyone has a clue as to what these symbols are (and their meaning), please email me.

- SW

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Preparing For Trip To Mars- Mars500 Mission



Mars500 Mission Begins Today

Redorbit.com- An international team of researchers will commence a virtual trip to Mars on Thursday by sealing themselves up in a windowless capsule at the Moscow Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) for 520 days – the time required for a round trip visit to the red planet.

The six-member, all-male crew will consist of three Russians, a Frenchman, an Italian-Colombian and one Chinese.

Although they won't experience weightlessness, they will live for nearly a year and a half in conditions that mimic an isolated spaceship environment, and will follow a rigorous regimen of experiments and exercise during that time.

The primary purpose of the Mars500 experiment is to study the effects of long-term isolation on humans in order to help future space crews manage the stress and fatigue associated with a real-life mission to Mars.

"When everybody interacts with the same people in the same space, habits and behavior become apparent very quickly. These habits may irritate and cause indignation — and even fits of aggression," said Mikhail Baryshev, a psychotherapist associated with the program, in an interview with the Associated Press (AP).

The experiment, conducted by the IBMP in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA) and Chinese space authorities, will simulate a virtual outbound leg of 250 days, followed by a 30-day 'stay' on Mars and a 240-day return journey to Earth.

The IBMP institute in western Moscow is Russia’s premier space medicine center, having served the Soviet and then Russian space programs since the beginning of space exploration.



A special-purpose test facility at the IMBP was constructed for the experiment. The facility consists of several interconnected modules with a total volume of roughly 20,000 cubic feet, and incorporates a separate imitator of the red planet’s surface for the mock landing.

The crew will communicate with the outside world via Internet, with occasional delays and disruptions to simulate the effects of space travel.

Once underway, researchers will conduct some 100 tests in the areas of psychology, psychophysiology, clinical diagnostics, physiology and microbiology during their mission.

They will eat canned food and shower once every 10 days — simulating typical space conditions.  The crew will get two days off per week, except during simulations of emergencies, and will regularly play video games as part of an ESA project to develop personalized software to interact with future crews on real life space missions.

French crewmember Romain Charles said the studies would keep the team occupied during their isolation.

"It's not a jail, it's a program, an experiment," he told the AP.

"It will be hard I'm sure, but we have a target to stay here 520 days and we will achieve it."

Charles, 31, and Italian-Colombian Diego Urbina, 27, are engineers by training, while China's Wang Yue, 26, is an employee at China's space training center.

Russia’s Alexey Sitev, 38, has worked at the Russian cosmonaut training center and will serve as captain.  The two other Russians, Sukhrob Kamolov, 32, and Alexander Smoleyevsky, 33, are physicians.

The crew will need a high degree of autonomy during a mission of this nature, and must be able to maintain and service their technical systems without any outside help.

Scientists are particularly interested in the effects of isolation on the crewmembers’ psychological and physiological health and performance capabilities.

A similar experiment in 1999-2000 at the same Moscow institute went awry when a Canadian woman complained of being forcibly kissed by a Russian team captain, AP reported.  She also said that two Russian crewmembers had engaged in a bloody fistfight.  But Russian authorities downplayed the situation, saying it was the result of stress and cultural differences.

A three-month experiment in 2009 with four Russians was completed without incident.  That experiment helped scientists study stress linked with cardiovascular problems and the effects on the immune system, said Martin Zell of the ESA’s Directorate of Human Spaceflight.

Although the current experiment may help scientists analyze the challenges faced by a future Mars exploration crew, technological obstacles make a real mission an unlikely prospect.  One of the most significant barriers lies in designing a compact, efficient shield against lethal space radiation.

Both Russia and the United States are working to develop a spacecraft that could be used for such a mission, but the projects are still in a nascent stage.

---

Image 1: Mars500's six crewmembers plus a Russian backup: ESA-selected Diego Urbina (Italian/Colombian, age 27) and Romain Charles (French, 31); Sukhrob Kamolov (32), Alexey Sitev (38), Alexandr Smoleevskiy (33) and Mikhail Sinelnikov (37) from Russia; and Wang Yue (26) from China. Credits: IBMP/Oleg Voloshin

Image 2: An exterior view of isolation facility at the Russian Institute of Biomedical Problems in Moscow, Russia. The facility is host to the Mars500 study that will help us to understand the psychological and medical aspects of long spaceflights. A 105-day Mars simulation was held between March and July 2009, a longer 520-day study will follow in early 2010. Credit: ESA

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