Mars landing hoax

{{conspiracynav}}
The '''Mars landing hoax''' is a type of [[denialism]] [[conspiracy theory]] cut from a similar cloth as the [[Moon landing hoax]]es, where the supporters deny any probe or rover has ever been sent to [[Mars]], alternatively claiming that footage from the Mars landings is completely (or at least substantially) faked. Some supporters, such as those within the [[Flat Earth Society]] or [[Above Top Secret]] readership also deny [[Space travel hoax|the rest of the space program.]]<ref>[http://theflatearthsociety.org/forum/index.php?topic=60367.0#.U9_R9Z1wbcs Flat Earth Society forum]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120331093955/http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread824158/pg1 Above Top Secret forum]</ref>

==Motives to deny==
Some of the supporters behind this conspiracy believe that space travel in general (or at least space travel beyond [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Earth_orbit Low Earth Orbit]) is impossible or at least way too difficult to successfully pull off, and this would include the Unmanned Mars Landings. [[Flat Earth|Flat Earthers]] for example, believe that not only all of spaceflight is fabricated and that spaceflight is impossible, but that outer space itself is a hoax because that a giant skydome covers the Earth with the stars and planets attached to it via '''M A G I C K'''. Others may believe some or all Martian probes did indeed arrived to their destined locations but the footage was faked to prevent people knowing about vast [[extraterrestrial|alien]] cities. These last few people may have been inspired by the [[Face on Mars]], Edgar Rice Burroughs's ''Barsoom'' stories and Orson Welles' ''The War of the Worlds''.

==Evidence==
===  Atmosphere ===
The Atlantean Conspiracy attempts to debunk claims of Mars landings by saying that the atmosphere is so thin that [[NASA]] would not have bothered using parachutes at all if this was a real mission.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080914134828/http://www.atlanteanconspiracy.com/2008/08/mars-faker-video.html ''Atlantean Conspiracy'', "MarsFaker"]</ref>
=== Devon Island ===
Some 'Mars Landing Hoax' supporters have discovered that [[NASA]] and other space agencies use places, such as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devon_Island Devon Island] and other similar deserts, to test their rovers and potential future Mars astronauts.<ref>http://fmars.marssociety.org</ref> This is because Devon Island is very geographically and visually similar to the Martian surface, making it the best Earth analogue that there is and thus a great way to test Martian technology. It further helps that it is the largest uninhabited island in the world. 

The hoax supporters however believe that these places aren't used for training purposes, but instead are the filming locations for the Mars rover footage. However, if this were true, we would expect to see any recognizable Devon Island geography or mountains in any of the Martian photographs, or witness any phenomenon in the footage that would prove it actually being filmed back on Earth in the open. This is however not the case. 

Some of the hoax supporters may counteract [[PIDOOMA|by claiming]] that the Devon Island footage is later modified using CGI to better fit the Martian landscape, but wouldn't it have made better sense to cut the middle-man and make it all with CGI?

==References==
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{{Stub|Conspiracy theories}}
[[Category:Spaceflight and space exploration]]

Categories: Spaceflight and space exploration