A Harvard scientist's bizarre theory that an ancient Martian civilisation was wiped out by a nuclear attack is gaining fresh attention.
Dr John Brandenburg believes the red colour of Mars could be evidence of a catastrophic nuclear event.
His theory, first proposed in 2011, has recently resurfaced on the Danny Jones Podcast - with the scientist claiming evidence of a "genocide" can still be detected today.
Dr Brandenburg's research centres around the "high concentration" of Xenon-129 in the Martian atmosphere, and uranium and thorium on the surface.
Xenon-129 is a stable, non-radioactive gas found naturally on Earth in trace amounts.
However, it is also released during nuclear fusion.
Dr John Brandenburg believes the red colour of Mars could be evidence of a catastrophic nuclear event
NASA
On the Danny Jones Podcast, philosophy PhD student Jason Reza Jorjani claimed Brandenburg's findings were "alarming evidence" of life on Mars.
"Every planet has a certain amount of isotopes of different materials on it, and apparently the isotopic ratio of Xenon 129 is consistent across the entire solar system, except for on Mars," Jorjani said.
He added that according to Brandenburg, the nuclear signature is "unmistakable" and "specifically associated with thermonuclear weapons detonation".
The Cydonia region in Mars' northern hemisphere is central to Brandenburg's theory.
This area is famous for what some believe are "apparent manmade megalithic structures", including formations like a "face" and giant "pyramids".
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Cydonia is home to the infamous 'face on Mars'
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Nasa scientists, however, have dismissed these as optical illusions caused by shadows and surface morphology.
Dr Brandenburg maintains they are remnants of an ancient civilisation, possibly as advanced as the ancient Egyptians on Earth.
He argues Mars once had an Earth-like climate capable of supporting plant and animal life.
Jorjani claimed Brandenburg's findings align with a CIA remote viewing project from 1984.
Joe McMoneagle, described as "the CIA's Remote Viewer No. 1", reportedly saw a dying civilisation on Mars during this classified project.
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Nasa has also rebuked claims about the chemical elements found on Mars
GETTY"When McMonagle was doing this remote viewing session, he described being in the midst of the ruins of a megalithic city with gigantic pyramids," said Jorjani.
McMoneagle later claimed to have found Nasa images showing pyramid structures and what he believed was a human bone on the Martian surface.
Nasa has also rebuked claims about the chemical elements found on Mars - despite having detected higher-than-expected levels of Xenon isotopes in Cydonia.
The space agency suggested these elements "could have been released into the atmosphere by impacts on the surface and by gas escaping from the rocky material" rather than nuclear warfare.
And mainstream scientists remain sceptical of Brandenburg's theories - they argue there is no credible physical evidence, such as a crater or fallout signatures, pointing to an artificial nuclear explosion.
Brandenburg's paper was published in what critics describe as a relatively low-level scientific journal.
