So-called “truthers” believe they have uncovered “solid evidence” that PROVES the space agency’s Mars Rovers never reached the Red Planet.
And they have allegedly found where the pictures and video were “beamed back” from.
They have pinpointed a largely uninhabited island, which NASA itself says “resembles the Mars surface in more ways than any other place on Earth”.
The bombshell allegations have been compared to claims the Moon landing was faked.
Investigator Harold Saive claims NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers – robots which are supposedly scouring the Martian landscape for signs of water, and possibly alien life – never reached their target.
Instead, they allegedly “fell short” – and landed on Devon Island, in Canada.
Devon Island – the world’s largest uninhabited island – lies in the Arctic Circle off the Canadian mainland.
It is characterized by freezing temperatures, barren terrain – and strangely familiar red rocks.
NASA readily admits it has a base there and drives rovers around its rocky surface.
Mr Saive said: “There are an increasing number of people who believe that NASA’s rovers never left the Earth in the first place, and the pictures they are allegedly sending back from Mars are taken in remote areas of our planet.
“Evidence suggests that the pictures that we see on NASA’s website are not even taken by the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers.
“It is possible that by now, both rovers are stored in a hangar, somewhere at NASA’s headquarters.”
But the conspiracy theorist goes further – and denies the “Red Planet” is even red.
He says “all amateur telescope pictures” reveal its true color (presumably brown) but NASA Photoshops its pictures of Devon Island to fit our preconceptions.
Mr. Saive even provides a video by fellow truther Danny Wilten showing how it’s done.
NASA has had a base at Nunavut, on Devon Island, since 1997 and up to 100 staff work there each summer.
The space agency insists its “mission” to the faraway world of…Canada…is to practice for Mars expeditions.
It says the Haughton Crater on Devon Island provides the perfect terrain for the job.
A spokesman said: “The Haughton-Mars Project exploration program studies the technologies, strategies, and personal training that will be used in human exploration missions to the Moon, Mars, and other planetary bodies.
“HMP researchers test technology prototypes, such as K-10, a robot designed to assist humans before, during, and after human exploration missions.
“Because the environment is harsh, isolated, and poorly mapped, it provides an analog for testing planetary exploration strategies, such as safety and telemedicine.”
Professor Lewis Dartnell, an astrobiology at the University of Westminster, who is designing laser eyes for the European Space Agency’s own Mars rover, told the Daily Star Online: “NASA’s Mars rover program is real, and Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity rovers are all on the surface of Mars.
“The radio signals beamed back to Earth from Opportunity and Curiosity are picked up by an international system of radio dishes called the Deep Space Network — so if this was a conspiracy then many different nations would need to be involved, and not just the USA.
“Also, satellites like the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter can clearly see the rovers on the surface of Mars, and the tracks left by their wheels tracing out across the Martian landscape.
“Any planetary scientist around the world can request images of particular regions on Mars from these orbital probes.”
