Among the most amazing cases of the UFO phenomenon are those that involve crashed objects seemingly from another world. By far the most famous of these is the one that supposedly happened in Roswell, New Mexico, to the point that most other crashes are compared to it. And what a number of such crashes there are, from every corner of the globe, to the point that it seems that operating a spacecraft here is rather dangerous business. One of these cases comes to us from the wilderness of Mexico, where a UFO supposedly crashed into a plane, sending them both crashing to earth and setting off a race between governments to recover the wreckage.

The incident begins on August 25, 1974, when an American Air Defense radar installation picked up an object moving in from the Gulf of Mexico on a predicted trajectory towards the state of Texas. Whatever it was it was moving extremely fast, at an estimated speed of around 2,530 miles per hour, and it was at an altitude of around 75,000 feet. It was rather alarming, as it was headed straight towards U.S. airspace and no one had a clue what it was. It was thought that it was perhaps a meteor, but then it slowed down. Considering that it was slowing down and about to violate U.S. airspace, an alert was issued and fighters were scrambled for possible interception of an enemy craft, yet it would then surprise everyone again.

The object was tracked to the area of Corpus Christi, Texas, where is suddenly dropped to an altitude of 45,000 feet and slowed down considerably to 1,955 miles per hour, before changing course to take it towards Mexican airspace before any defense could be mounted. It then shot out over Brownsville, Texas, and gently descended once again to about 20,000 feet before suddenly and inexplicably vanishing from radar in the general vicinity of a place called Coyame, in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, just across the U.S. border. Considering that the object had slowed down, changed course, and descended in smooth, measured steps, it was clear that this was no meteor, and it was also no equipment malfunction, because another military radar installation would report that they had tracked it as well. When the object did not appear on screens again, it was assumed that it must have come down in the desert wasteland near the town, but no one had any idea of what it could have been.

Strangely, civilian radar had apparently not picked this particular event up, but it was found that they had picked up a private aircraft that seemed to have crashed in the same area. However, the flight path of the civilian aircraft did not match that of the mystery object, making any connection between the two murky and differentiating them as two separate phenomena. The only thing anyone knew was that the object the military had tracked and the civilian aircraft seemed to have gone down in precisely the same area at just around the same time. It was all rather odd, but it was apparent that at least an aircraft had crashed, and so the Mexican authorities launched a search for the wreckage, soon finding it out among the rugged parched scrubland. That was when the weirdness would continue. In addition to the wreckage of the aircraft, it was soon reported that there was another crash site not far away, and that this one seemed to be oddly circular in shape and mostly in one piece. After that, radio silence was put into effect and there was no further word on what was going on.

The original reports and communications between the rescue crews had been intercepted by the CIA, who started putting together their own team to go and check it out, and the Mexican government was asked for permission to enter and do their own recovery mission or assist with the operation. These requests would allegedly be either ignored and met with silence or outright denied, but according to eyewitness reports the Americans didn’t really care, and went ahead anyway, mobilizing a group of helicopters at Fort Bliss, which were all painted in light brown colors and without markings. In the meantime, the CIA had apparently picked up satellite imagery showing that there had indeed been two crash sites, and furthermore there were very large flatbed trucks that had been brought in to move the wreckage, one piece very disk-like in nature, with the trucks stopping in a very remote area away from habitation and then assuming complete radio silence. Alarmed that something weird was going on, the U.S. government ordered a flyby to check it out.

A low altitude, high speed flyby purportedly showed trucks and jeeps stopped in the area and two bodies lying on the ground, and it was decided to send the helicopters in. Four military helicopters were then sent out across the border to the site, where they supposedly found the entire Mexican convoy still and the personnel all dead for reasons unknown, most of them still sitting lifelessly in their vehicles. On one of the flatbed trucks was found a large, disc-shaped craft that measured about 16 feet in diameter, and was composed of smooth silver metal, with no apparent markings, doors, windows, or visible means of propulsion anywhere on it. The disc was also surprisingly only lightly damaged, with merely a small hole and some dents to show for what was seen as an obvious collision with the civilian aircraft. In fact, the wreckage from that aircraft was also carried by the Mexican convoy, and that plane had been completely obliterated, nothing but twisted pieces.

With great caution this object was allegedly whisked away by the helicopters. According to the story, before leaving the military also made sure to destroy the remains of the convoy, the plane wreckage, and all of the bodies with high explosives, in what appears to have been some sort of nefarious attempt to get rid of the evidence. The disk was apparently taken to a secure facility in the Davis Mountains, after which it was decontaminated and moved to a covered truck and brought by back roads to an unknown location somewhere near Atlanta, Georgia. The movements of the object are unknown from there, with some reports saying it was put in an underground facility, while others say it was moved yet again. No one really knows. Also mysteries are why the entire recovery team and convoy sent by the Mexican government was dead, made even more confusing in that none of the American team reportedly had any problem or illness.

It is all a lot to take in, and considering the talk of crashed alien craft in the desert, secretive coverups, and the possession of the UFO wreckage it has drawn comparisons to the more famous Roswell, New Mexico crash, to the point that it is often even referred to as “The Mexican Roswell.” Indeed, by far the most complete source and record of the case can be found in the book titled Mexico’s Roswell: The Chihuahua UFO Crash, by Noe Torres and Ruben Uriarte, who have been researching the case for years. Yet the answers remain vague. Was this a crashed extraterrestrial craft or not? There have of course been mundane theories put out to explain all of this, such as that it was not a UFO at all, but rather a drug running plane that had collided with a civilian aircraft. There is also the fact that very few people remain in the area who directly witnessed any of this, and the sources for these rumors are difficult to corroborate, with most of the information gleaned from 2nd or 3rd hand accounts and solid documentation scarce. With so little to go on, it is just a fantastic story relegated to the realm of speculation and debate. What happened out there in those desert badlands, if anything? We may never know for sure, but it is an intriguing case that is sure to capture the imagination for some time to come.

Looking for some good news? You came to the wrong place, but stay anyway because this is the kind of bad news we’re getting early enough to fully prepare for – if not prevent entirely. We’re talking about viruses, of course … in particular, the next deadly virus. A former NASA director has released a new paper warning that the next killer virus may not come from bats … unless there are bats on Mars. His concern, one he claims is shared by many in the space program, is that spaceships returning from Mars may be filled with humans and rocks covered with a super-virus the likes of which have never been seen on Earth. Can we prevent them? Can we prepare? Do we need some bigger masks?

“In my opinion, and that of the science community, the chance that rocks from Mars that are millions of years old will contain an active life form that could infect Earth is extremely low. But, the samples returned by MSR will be quarantined and treated as though they are the Ebola virus until proven safe.”

Ebola virus

The mass media reports on the worldwide pandemic of COVID-19 caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 have overshadowed the Ebola virus, which attacks faster (within two days of exposure) and is extremely deadly (killing 25% to 90% of those infected, with an average of about 50%), which makes its usage as a reference by Scott Hubbard, former director of NASA Ames and current adjunct professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University, disconcerting at the very least. In an interview with Stanford News about a new paper — co-authored by Hubbard and published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine – Hubbard warns about the dangers posed by space missions in general and Mars missions in particular … particularly those returning to Earth with samples and humans exposed to the Martian environment. (MSR a proposed Martian Sample Return mission of which the Perseverance Rover is a part.)

“Past missions with large budgets – such as Viking I and II to Mars in the mid-1970s – were able to use heat to sterilize whole spacecraft. That approach is not possible today for a variety of reasons.”

Hubbard talks about the “bioburden” of keeping Earth microbes and diseases from contaminating another planet or asteroid (called ‘forward contamination’) but his main focus is on ‘back contamination’. He describes one plan to “break the chain of contact” between the returning spacecraft and Mars rock samples with autonomous sealing and welding to create multiple levels of containment. Hubbard notes that “the Apollo astronauts from the first few moon missions were quarantined to ensure they showed no signs of illness” until NASA felt there were not harmful contaminants on the Moon. The process must be initiated again for Mars missions. He thinks his old agency can handle NASA missions, but he’s very concerned about the FAA and private space companies.

“The complication is that NASA is a mission agency with huge PP expertise but not a regulatory agency like the Federal Aviation Administration, which has little PP knowledge but issues licenses for commercial launches.”

Apollo 11 astronauts in quarantine.

(Credit: NASA)

Hubbard is very concerned about forward contaminations and “planetary protection (PP)” as well, and shows his disdain for these private space companies – one in particular:

“This phrase refers primarily to space entrepreneurs such as Elon Musk (SpaceX), who launched his own cherry red Tesla Roadster to a Mars-like orbit around the sun aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket. We need some way of knowing whether they are following appropriate PP procedures.”

That also includes privately-launched tiny cubesats. What goes up may come down – sometimes on Earth but, as these tiny satellites and especially laser light sails become more common, potentially on other planets or asteroids. While the FAA might be able to regulate these companies in the U.S., it has no control over those in other countries.

The report was completed before the COVID-19 pandemic began, so Hubbard addresses it in the interview, noting that the paper has “a small section suggesting that NASA and a recommended new advisory group take a very proactive approach toward educating the public about the extraordinary measures being taken to sequester the returned samples and protect the public.”

Hubbard’s concerns and warnings are commendable and needed. However, based on how little we’ve been informed about COVID-19 prevention, potential treatments and possible (if any) vaccines, does anyone feel comfortable about any agency’s (public or private) ability (or obligation or desire) to “educate the public”?

Asking for a lot of friends.

Known and feared by those that call the Gobi Desert their home, the Mongolian Death Worm is a beast that has become legendary in monster-hunting circles. At Cryptid Wiki we learn the following: “The Mongolian Death Worm’s native name, Olgoi-Khorkhoi, means ‘intestine worm’, due to its red blood-like color, and size, which is the size of an intestine. It has been described by many to be from 2-7ft long, have the ability to spit out a corrosive yellow saliva and to generate blasts of electricity. However this latter power is thought of as being folkloric by the nomads of the Gobi. Western culture has come to call this monster the ‘Mongolian Death Worm.’ Mongolian nomads believe the giant worm covers its prey with an acidic substance that turns everything a corroded yellow color.”

It was not until the mid-1920s that word of this hideous thing reached the west. Prior to that time it was a case of what happens in the Gobi Desert stays in the Gobi Desert. The news that Mongolia was home to one of the most terrifying of all monsters came from Roy Chapman Andrews, who was not only the author of the 1926 book On the Trail of Ancient Man. He was rumored to have been one of the inspirations for one of Hollywood’s most famous characters of the gung-ho kind, Indiana Jones. It should be stressed, however, this has never been definitively confirmed. It was while seeking evidence of the presence of ancient man in Mongolia that Andrews heard some very weird tales about a certain deadly beast that lived below the sands. Skeptoid’s Brian Dunning wrote: “In the summer of 1919, Andrews and his party were in the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar, then called Urga. They were to meet the Premier, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and other officials in the Mongolian cabinet to finalize the details of their expedition permits.” Andrews wrote:

“Then the Premier asked that, if it were possible, I should capture for the Mongolian government a specimen of the allergorhai-horhai. I doubt whether any of my scientific readers can identify this animal. I could, because I had heard of it often. None of those present ever had seen the creature, but they all firmly believed in its existence and described it minutely. It is shaped like a sausage about two feet long, has no head nor legs and is so poisonous that merely to touch it means instant death. It lives in the most desolate parts of the Gobi Desert, whither we were going. To the Mongols it seems to be what the dragon is to the Chinese. The Premier said that, although he had never seen it himself, he knew a man who had and had lived to tell the tale. Then a Cabinet Minister stated that ‘the cousin of his late wife’s sister’ had also seen it. I promised to produce the allergorhai-horhai if we chanced to cross its path, and explained how it could be seized by means of long steel collecting forceps; moreover, I could wear dark glasses, so that the disastrous effects of even looking at so poisonous a creature would be neutralized. The meeting adjourned with the best of feeling; for we had a common interest in capturing the allergorhai-horhai. I was especially happy because now the doors of Outer Mongolia were open to the expedition.

A depiction of a Mongolian death worm

“Ten years later,” said Skeptoid’s Brian Dunning, “Andrews co-authored an account of further expeditions in the 1932 book The New Conquest of Central Asia, in which he repeated this brief tale.” Andrews stated: “I have never yet found a Mongol who was willing to admit that he had actually seen it himself, although dozens say they know men who have. Moreover, whenever we went to a region which was said to be a favorite habitat of the beast, the Mongols at that particular spot said that it could be found in abundance a few miles away. Were not the belief in its existence so firm and general, I would dismiss it as a myth. I report it here with the hope that future explorers of the Gobi may have better success than we had in running to earth the Allergorhai horhai.”

In his book, Andrews said: “This is probably an entirely mythical animal, but it may have some little basis in fact, for every northern Mongol firmly believes in it and gives essentially the same description. It is said to be about two feet long, the body shaped like a sausage, and to have no head or legs; it is so poisonous that even to touch it means instant death. It is reported to live in the most arid, sandy regions of the western Gobi. What reptile could have furnished the basis for the description is a mystery!”

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While working in a Bulgarian cave called Bacho Kiro, archaeologists made a huge discovery when they unearthed the earliest evidence of modern humans living in Europe.

Two research teams unearthed bones and teeth inside of the cave. When they analyzed the remains, they found that some of the bones were from animals such as deer and bison, but some also belonged to ancient Homo sapiens. In fact, they found that the remains belonged to seven humans and they were even able to extract DNA from six of them. Tools that were created from animals bones were also found at the cave site. Pictures can be seen here.

Bacho Kiro cave

Additionally, they found that the ancient humans hunted deer and bison and they used the animals’ teeth (especially those from cave bears) to make jewelry as well as ornaments – a craft known to have been practiced by Neanderthals. “There are some similarities in manufacturing techniques used by Homo sapiens at Bacho Kiro and Neanderthals elsewhere, which makes clear there was cultural transmission going on between the two groups,” stated Professor Shara Bailey who is an anthropologist at New York University as well as a co-author of the study which can be read in full here. Another study was published and can be read here.

Another author of the study, Professor Jean-Jacques Hublin, who is from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, weighed in by stating, “Several of the artifacts have red staining that is consistent with the use of ochre,” adding, “We identified 1 perforated ivory bead and 12 perforated or grooved pendants, 11 of which were made from cave bear teeth and 1 from an ungulate tooth.”

What’s even more incredible is that this discovery proves that modern humans arrived in Europe approximately 45,000 years ago, meaning that they co-existed with Neanderthals for several thousands of years.

Entrance to the Bacho Kiro cave.

In an interview with The Times, Hublin stated, “Now we see there is a period of about 8,000 years between the first modern humans putting their feet in eastern Europe and the extinction of the last Neanderthal in the far west of the continent,” adding, “Eight thousand years is a long time. Long enough for a lot of interactions between these populations in terms of biology, but also in terms of cultural diffusion from one group to another.”

Whether the arrival of modern humans directly caused the extinction of Neanderthals remains highly debatable. Dr. William Banks, who is from the University of Bordeaux but was not involved in the study, has his own opinion, “The results summarized and discussed are important because we as archaeologists ultimately wish to understand the population and cultural dynamics implicated in the observed disappearance of Neanderthal populations in Europe around 40,000 – 39,000 years ago.” He went on to state, “These new results from Bacho Kiro provide us with an important piece of the puzzle, but many still remain to be put in place.”