A former CIA operative, who once worked as a “remote viewer” for the agency, has made astonishing claims about life on Mars based on his psychic experiences. Joe McMoneagle, a former US Army Chief Warrant Officer and the CIA’s top remote viewer, recently shared his extraordinary insights on the American Alchemy podcast.
The CIA’s Secret Experiment in Psychic Perception
In the early 1970s, the CIA launched a classified project in partnership with the Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International) to investigate remote viewing—a supposed ability to perceive distant places and events using only the mind. This covert program aimed to use psychic techniques for intelligence gathering.
McMoneagle was a key participant in this initiative. As part of an experiment, he was handed a set of coordinates without being told what they represented. His task was to use his remote viewing skills to visualize the location.
Surprising Visions of Mars’ Mysterious Past

As McMoneagle focused, he began to see a massive pyramid-like structure with enormous chambers inside. He also described witnessing towering humanoid figures—twice the size of modern humans—taking shelter within the pyramids. The scene was marked by a violent storm, and the atmosphere appeared to be deteriorating rapidly.
“I saw human-like beings trapped as their environment was turning hostile,” McMoneagle recalled. “It was clear that they were struggling to survive… but they were much larger than us.”
However, the most shocking revelation came when he checked the target details. To his disbelief, the card revealed that the location he had been viewing was “Mars. One million BC.”
Frustrated, McMoneagle admitted he disliked working on targets where he couldn’t verify his findings. “I hate when I can’t prove whether what I’m seeing is real or just my imagination,” he admitted.
Surprising Visions of Mars’ Mysterious Past
As McMoneagle focused, he began to see a massive pyramid-like structure with enormous chambers inside. He also described witnessing towering humanoid figures—twice the size of modern humans—taking shelter within the pyramids. The scene was marked by a violent storm, and the atmosphere appeared to be deteriorating rapidly.
“I saw human-like beings trapped as their environment was turning hostile,” McMoneagle recalled. “It was clear that they were struggling to survive… but they were much larger than us.”
However, the most shocking revelation came when he checked the target details. To his disbelief, the card revealed that the location he had been viewing was “Mars. One million BC.”
Frustrated, McMoneagle admitted he disliked working on targets where he couldn’t verify his findings. “I hate when I can’t prove whether what I’m seeing is real or just my imagination,” he admitted.
A Devastating Event That Wiped Out Martian Life?
Based on his vision, McMoneagle speculated that Mars’ atmosphere was stripped away by a massive cosmic event—perhaps a celestial body passing through the solar system. This catastrophe, he believed, may have led to the extinction of the civilization he had witnessed.
Determined to validate his vision, McMoneagle later requested satellite images of the locations he had viewed. To his amazement, he found photographs showing a pyramid-like structure on the edge of a massive impact crater—remarkably similar to what he had seen.
“If this structure had existed for millions of years, a planetary catastrophe would have destroyed it,” he argued, implying that the pyramid must have been artificially constructed.
The Mystery of Mars: Fact or Fiction?

While McMoneagle’s claims are compelling, they remain controversial. Remote viewing has never been scientifically verified, and most experts dismiss it as pseudoscience. However, his testimony adds another layer to the ongoing speculation about the possibility of ancient life on Mars.
Whether true or not, his account fuels curiosity about the Red Planet, leaving the question open: Was Mars once home to an advanced civilization?