The Psychic Probe of Jupiter

The declassified CIA file titled "An Experimental Psychic Probe of the Planet Jupiter" stems from an unusual experiment conducted in 1973 as part of the broader Stargate Project, a program exploring psychic phenomena for intelligence purposes. This particular document details an attempt by two individuals, Ingo Swann and Harold Sherman, to use "remote viewing" - a form of extrasensory perception - to mentally explore Jupiter before NASA's Pioneer 10 spacecraft would fly by the planet later that year. The experiment was overseen by researchers Harold Puthoff and Russell Targ at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI), with the CIA archiving the results.

In the document, Swann and Sherman describe their psychic impressions of Jupiter, recorded separately and then compared. Their visions include a hydrogen mantle, bands of crystals in the atmosphere reflecting radio waves, and surface features like sand dunes made of large crystals, swept by tremendous winds. They also mention volcanic activity and undiscovered moons - some of which, like the volcanic activity on Io confirmed by Voyager in 1979, were later validated by scientific observation. However, other claims, such as a breathable atmosphere or beings in the asteroid belt, remain unsubstantiated or outright contradict known science.

The file itself is more of a curiosity than a groundbreaking revelation. It’s a mix of transcriptions of their impressions, timestamps, and some dialogue between the participants and researchers. The experiment was framed as a test of psychic abilities, with the upcoming Pioneer 10 flyby seen as a chance for feedback on their accuracy. While some of their descriptions - like the rings of Jupiter, confirmed by Voyager - were eerily prescient, much of it is speculative or inaccurate, reflecting the limits of remote viewing as a reliable method. The CIA’s interest was less about Jupiter itself and more about the potential of psychic phenomena for intelligence gathering during the Cold War, a time when they were exploring all sorts of unconventional tools to gain an edge over the Soviets.

Citations and Sources

AN EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHIC PROBE OF THE PLANET JUPITER NSA-RDP96X00790R000100040010-3