Project STARGATE: CIA's Declassified Remote Viewing, Mars Exploration, and Time Travel Experiments
The Cold War era not only witnessed conventional espionage but also gave birth to one of the most extraordinary government initiatives in history. From 1972 to 1995, the United States government funded and operated Project Stargate, a classified program dedicated to developing "psychic spies" capable of remote viewing. This initiative emerged after intelligence agencies discovered that the Soviet Union was investing heavily in paranormal research for military applications.
Remote viewing, the ability to mentally "see" distant locations without physical presence, produced some remarkable results according to declassified documents. Psychic operatives reportedly located downed aircraft in Africa, pinpointed hostages in various global crises, and even identified hidden military installations. The program's most controversial claims involve psychic Joseph McMoneagle allegedly viewing Mars as it existed one million years ago, describing tall beings and pyramid-like structures during a controlled experiment at Fort Meade, Maryland.
Key Takeaways
Project Stargate employed psychic operatives for intelligence gathering over a 23-year period until its official closure in 1995.
Remote viewers claimed successful missions including finding hostages, locating military targets, and even perceiving events on Mars.
Despite the program's termination, similar research continues through various government agencies including a recent Naval Research initiative exploring premonition among military personnel.
Historical Backdrop
The Superpower Conflict and Covert Intelligence
The Cold War era saw extraordinary measures taken by both the United States and Soviet Union beyond conventional espionage tactics. Intelligence agencies invested billions into unconventional projects seeking strategic advantages. The CIA developed operations like "Acoustic Kitty," which attempted to use cats with surgically implanted microphones and transmitters for eavesdropping purposes. This particular $20 million project ended abruptly when the first deployed cat was struck by a taxi outside a Soviet compound in Washington DC.
Soviet counterparts pursued equally unusual avenues, including experiments with low-frequency radio waves designed to control canine behavior. These efforts represented just a fraction of the clandestine research undertaken during this tense geopolitical period.
Unorthodox Intelligence Initiatives
In 1972, American intelligence discovered that the Soviet Union had allocated millions to paranormal research, including ESP, telepathy, and telekinesis for espionage applications. This prompted immediate action from the CIA, which secured funding to develop competitive capabilities in psychic espionage.
The CIA, U.S. Army, and Defense Intelligence Agency established secret facilities nationwide to recruit individuals claiming extrasensory abilities. Their primary interest centered on "remote viewing" - the purported ability to mentally observe distant locations without physical presence. One notable success occurred in 1976 when psychic Rosemary Smith accurately pinpointed a crashed Russian bomber in the Congo, enabling a successful paramilitary recovery mission.
These scattered paranormal projects were eventually consolidated at Fort Meade, Maryland under "Project Stargate," which operated for 23 years until 1995. The program claimed numerous operational successes:
Detailed drawings of secret Soviet military installations
Location of hostages held by the Red Brigade in Italy
Identification of Scud missile positions during the Gulf War
Predictive vision of the World Trade Center attack (though warnings went unheeded)
In 1989, remote viewer Angela Ford successfully tracked a fugitive customs agent to Level, Wyoming - proving remarkably accurate despite a minor spelling error in her vision.
Soviet Paranormal Studies and American Response
Intelligence reports from 1972 created significant concern among American officials regarding extensive Soviet research into psychic phenomena. This triggered an unprecedented competitive response in paranormal research for national security purposes.
One of Project Stargate's most prominent remote viewers was Joseph McMoneagle, a decorated Army intelligence officer who claimed to develop psychic abilities after a near-fatal helicopter accident in Vietnam. Between 1978-1984, McMoneagle participated in approximately 450 CIA operations, including locating Iranian hostages and discovering surveillance equipment hidden in KGB agents' possessions.
His most controversial session occurred on May 22, 1984, when given geographic coordinates without context, McMoneagle described seeing pyramid-like structures and tall, thin beings on what was later revealed to be Mars, approximately one million years in the past. While seemingly fantastical, these accounts come directly from declassified CIA documents among the 12 million pages released about Project Stargate.
McMoneagle's credibility stems partly from his military achievements, including the Legion of Merit award, and his reported 20% success rate in remote viewing operations - far exceeding statistical probability for random guessing. Despite Project Stargate's official termination, similar research continued through other channels, including a 2014 Office of Naval Research program exploring "sixth sense" capabilities among military personnel.
Exploration into Extrasensory Intelligence Gathering
CIA's Paranormal Intelligence Program
The Cold War era witnessed extraordinary intelligence initiatives beyond conventional espionage methods. In 1972, American intelligence officials received classified information suggesting the Soviet Union had invested millions into extrasensory perception (ESP), mind reading, and telekinesis research for espionage purposes. This discovery prompted immediate action from the CIA, who sought funding to develop their own program for training psychic operatives.
Later that year, a collaborative effort between the CIA, U.S. Army, and Defense Intelligence Agency established secret facilities nationwide. They recruited individuals claiming ESP abilities, with particular interest in those skilled at remote viewing – the practice of psychically observing distant locations without physical presence.
Initial success came in 1976 when psychic Rosemary Smith demonstrated remarkable abilities. After a Russian bomber crashed in the Congo, Smith drew maps pinpointing its specific location. A paramilitary unit dispatched to her indicated coordinates successfully located the aircraft, convincing CIA officials they had discovered a valuable intelligence resource.
Project Stargate Operations
The promising results led to consolidation of various psychic programs at Fort Meade, Maryland, under the codename Project Stargate. This initiative operated for 23 years until its official termination in 1995 following media exposure on Nightline.
Joseph McMoneagle, a U.S. Army intelligence officer, became one of Project Stargate's most prominent remote viewers. After surviving a near-fatal helicopter accident in Vietnam in 1970, McMoneagle reportedly developed psychic abilities and subsequently participated in approximately 450 separate CIA missions between 1978 and 1984.
Key Statistics Project Stargate Duration 1972-1995 (23 years) Base of Operations Fort Meade, Maryland McMoneagle's Success Rate 20% according to CIA McMoneagle's Missions 450 between 1978-1984
One particularly unusual session occurred on May 22, 1984, when McMoneagle was given sealed coordinates and asked to describe what he perceived. He reported seeing pyramid-like structures and impressions of tall, thin beings. Only after completing his remote viewing session was he informed the target was Mars, approximately one million years in the past.
Remote Viewing Applications
Project Stargate's remote viewers contributed to various intelligence operations with significant reported results. Their capabilities were employed to create renderings of secret Soviet facilities and locate hostages in international crises.
Practical applications included:
Locating hostages held by the Red Brigade in Italy
Finding victims during the Israeli hostage crisis
Identifying Scud missile positions during the First Gulf War
Tracking a fugitive former customs agent to Level, Wyoming (initially reported as "Lowell")
Locating a sunken Soviet Typhoon-class submarine
In another notable case, remote viewer Angela Ford successfully tracked a former customs agent who had fled justice. She identified his location as "Lowell, Wyoming," which, despite the small error (the actual location was Level, Wyoming), led to his apprehension.
Though Project Stargate officially ended in the 1990s, government interest in extrasensory capabilities apparently continued. In 2014, the Office of Naval Research reportedly launched a four-year, $4 million program investigating "sixth sense" abilities among sailors and marines. Dr. Edwin May, who formerly headed Project Stargate, has maintained that ESP remains a legitimate tool for military intelligence gathering.
Notable Cases and Achievements
The Congo Aircraft Incident
In 1976, an incident occurred that significantly boosted the credibility of the psychic espionage program. When a Russian bomber crashed in the Congo, the details were forwarded to CIA psychic researchers at Patterson Air Base in Ohio. There, a psychic named Rosemary Smith was consulted about the location of the downed aircraft.
Smith drew maps of the Congo and identified a specific location where she claimed the aircraft had crashed. Based on her information, a paramilitary unit was dispatched to the coordinates she provided. Remarkably, they discovered the downed aircraft exactly where Smith had indicated it would be.
This success convinced the CIA that psychic abilities held genuine potential for intelligence gathering, leading to the consolidation of various psychic projects into what would become known as Project Stargate at Fort Meade, Maryland.
Tracking a Fugitive Official
In 1989, the program demonstrated another impressive result when psychic Angela Ford was tasked with helping locate a former customs agent who had gone into hiding. During her remote viewing session, Ford reported seeing the fugitive in a place she identified as "Lowell, Wyoming."
Initially, this seemed to be an error, as no such place existed on maps. However, investigators soon realized that a town called "Level, Wyoming" did exist—a location just one letter different from Ford's vision. When authorities checked this location, they indeed found the fugitive customs agent there.
This case became one of the most frequently cited examples of remote viewing success within the intelligence community, as the similarity between the psychic's description and the actual location seemed too specific to be coincidental.
Predicting Future Events
Remote viewers associated with Project Stargate reportedly demonstrated abilities beyond just seeing current events in distant locations—some appeared capable of foreseeing future incidents. One of the most startling claims involves a remote viewer who allegedly foresaw the attack on the World Trade Center.
According to declassified documents, this viewer provided specific warnings about the future attack. However, these warnings were not heeded by intelligence officials at the time. Other predictive successes included:
Drawing accurate renderings of secret Soviet military bases
Locating hostages held by the Red Brigade in Italy
Finding victims during the Israeli hostage crisis
Identifying locations of Scud missiles during the first Gulf War
Joseph McMoneagle, a decorated Army intelligence officer and Project Stargate participant, reportedly took part in over 450 CIA missions between 1978 and 1984. The CIA's own assessment suggested McMoneagle achieved approximately 20% accuracy in his remote viewing sessions—far above what could be attributed to random chance.
The Red Planet and Time Displacement
Joseph McMoneagle's Remote Perception
Joseph McMoneagle, a U.S. Army intelligence officer with an impressive background, claimed to have psychically visited Mars. After a near-death experience during a helicopter accident in Vietnam in 1970, McMoneagle discovered he possessed unusual perceptual abilities. These abilities led to his recruitment into classified government programs.
Between 1978 and 1984, McMoneagle participated in approximately 450 missions for intelligence agencies. His successes reportedly included:
Locating hostages in Iran
Discovering a hidden shortwave radio in a KGB agent's calculator
Finding a sunken Soviet submarine
McMoneagle was awarded the Legion of Merit upon retirement from the Army, suggesting his contributions were valued by military leadership. His work in remote viewing programs has been documented in several books and interviews he's conducted over the years.
The 1984 Martian Coordinates Session
On May 22, 1984, McMoneagle participated in what would become one of the most unusual remote viewing sessions in documented government psychic programs. The procedure followed a strict protocol:
McMoneagle received a sealed envelope (instructed not to open it)
He was given specific geographic coordinates: 40.89° N, 9.55° W
A researcher asked him to describe what he perceived at that location
During this session, McMoneagle reported seeing several strange phenomena:
Pyramid-like structures
Shadows of "very tall, thin" beings
Large obelisks resembling the Washington Monument
Carved channels like ancient roadbeds
Structures that appeared to be storm shelters containing hibernating entities
When the envelope was finally opened at the conclusion, it revealed the target was "the planet Mars, time of interest approximately 1 million years BC." This session represented not just potential space exploration but also a form of temporal displacement through psychic means.
The CIA eventually declassified documents about this session along with other materials from Project Stargate, totaling approximately 12 million pages of records related to psychic research programs.
The End of the Stargate Program and Its Historical Significance
Program Termination and Public Revelation
Project Stargate ended in 1995 after ABC's Nightline aired a report exposing the program to the general public. This media coverage brought widespread attention to what had previously been a classified government initiative. The program had operated for 23 years across various military and intelligence agencies before its official closure.
After the program ended, the CIA released approximately 12 million pages of documents related to Project Stargate and other psychic research initiatives. This massive document dump provided unprecedented insight into the government's decades-long exploration of remote viewing and psychic phenomena for intelligence purposes.
Joseph McMoneagle, one of the program's most notable remote viewers, maintained the legitimacy of the project even after its termination. Following his retirement from the Army, McMoneagle received the Legion of Merit for his outstanding service. He went on to author several books and deliver lectures about his experiences with remote viewing.
Assessment of Results and Long-term Influence
The effectiveness of Project Stargate remains a subject of debate. According to CIA evaluations, McMoneagle achieved a 20% success rate in his remote viewing sessions, which proponents consider remarkable given the nature of the work. Among the program's claimed successes:
Locating downed Russian aircraft in the Congo
Drawing accurate renderings of secret Soviet bases
Finding hostages held by the Red Brigade in Italy
Identifying Scud missile locations during the Gulf War
Despite the program's official termination, similar research has continued in other forms. In 2014, the Office of Naval Research launched a four-year, $4 million program exploring "sixth sense" capabilities among military personnel. Dr. Edwin May, who formerly headed Project Stargate, continues to advocate for ESP as a legitimate tool for military intelligence.
The financial investment in Project Stargate reflects the seriousness with which the government approached psychic research during the Cold War. While skepticism persists about remote viewing's reliability, the program represents a fascinating chapter in the history of unconventional intelligence gathering techniques.
Exploring Extrasensory Perception Research
Modern Naval Investigations
The Office of Naval Research embarked on a significant ESP research initiative in 2014. This four-year program received $4 million in funding to investigate "sixth sense" capabilities among sailors and marines. The military's continued interest suggests they see potential practical applications for these abilities in modern warfare and intelligence gathering.
Military leaders recognize that even small advantages in perception could provide critical tactical benefits. Research focuses on developing methods to identify and possibly enhance natural intuitive capabilities that some service members demonstrate under pressure.
Ongoing Scientific Interest in Paranormal Phenomena
Dr. Edwin May, who previously led government ESP research initiatives, continues to advocate for ESP as a legitimate military intelligence tool. His work represents the persistent belief within certain scientific and military circles that these phenomena merit serious study.
Support for paranormal research exists across multiple sectors:
Scientific community
Military intelligence organizations
High-level government officials
While public skepticism remains widespread, proponents argue that the potential benefits justify continued investment. These researchers maintain that even a small percentage of successful ESP applications could provide substantial intelligence advantages.
Many experts take a balanced approach, remaining open to evidence while demanding rigorous scientific protocols. This middle ground between full belief and complete dismissal allows research to continue while maintaining scientific standards.
