Richard Charles Hoagland, an American author, is prominently known as an advocate for various conspiracy theories concerning NASA and purported lost alien civilizations on celestial bodies like the Moon, Mars, and other planets. Within his written works, Hoagland expounds upon his belief in the existence or past presence of advanced civilizations on these celestial bodies, as well as on select moons of Jupiter and Saturn. He alleges a clandestine collaboration between NASA and the U.S. government aimed at concealing these alleged truths from the public. Hoagland has disseminated his theories through published books, videos, lectures, interviews, and press conferences.

   A cornerstone of Hoagland's assertions revolves around what he perceives as a NASA cover-up, particularly concerning the "Face on Mars" and related structures. He attributes the roots of this alleged cover-up to a report commissioned by NASA known as the Brookings Report, titled "Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs," published in 1960. Hoagland contends that on page 216 of this report, instructions were given to NASA to purposefully withhold any evidence of extraterrestrial activity, particularly on the moon, Mars, or Venus, from public disclosure.