Conspiracy forums have been set ablaze this week after a lady claiming to be a former Nasa employee said she had seen humans on Mars.

The woman, named 'Jackie', called into American radio station, Coast to Coast AM, with a 'confession' that she had witnessed suited men running on the red planet in 1979.

Jackie said she was working as part of a 'downstairs' team downloading telemetry from a Viking Lander when she saw the humans via live feed.

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The woman, named 'Jackie', called in to American radio station, Coast to Coast AM, with a 'confession' that she had witnessed suited men running on the red planet in 1979 Jackie said she was working as part of a 'downstairs' team downloading telemetry from a Viking Lander (pictured) when she saw the humans

'I wonder if you could solve a 27-year-old mystery for me,' she asked the presenter. 'That old Viking rover was running around.

'Then I saw two men in space suits - not the bulky suits we normally used, but they looked protective. They came over the horizon walking to the Viking Explorer.'

Nasa has not corroborated the story, but this hasn't stopped conspiracy theorists from claiming it as evidence for a 'secret space programme.'

According to Jackie, six other Nasa workers saw the two humans walking on the red planet's surface.

'We ran upstairs – but they locked the door, and taped paper over the door so we couldn't see,' she said. 'My question is – were they our guys?'

The Viking Mars mission was performed by two spacecraft, Viking 1 and Viking 2, launched within a couple of weeks of each other in the 1970s.

Each spacecraft consisted of an orbiter and a lander, which travelled attached together for nearly a year to reach Mars orbit.

The orbiters then began taking pictures of the Martian surface, from which a landing site was selected. The landers then separated from the orbiters and soft landed.

MARTIAN CIVILISATION WAS WIPED OUT BY ALIENS, CLAIMS PHYSICIST Earlier this week, physicist Dr John Brandenburg said he believes an ancient civilisation on Mars was wiped out by a nuclear attack from another alien race. Dr Brandenburg says ancient Martians known as Cydonians and Utopians were massacred in the attack - and evidence of the genocide can still be seen today. Back in 2011 the scientist first postulated that the red colour on Mars could have been due to a naturally occurring thermonuclear explosion. 'The Martian surface is covered with a thin layer of radioactive substances including uranium, thorium and radioactive potassium - and this pattern radiates from a hot spot on Mars,' he told Fox News at the time. 'A nuclear explosion could have sent debris all around the planet.' But since then he has advanced his theory to the level that he now no longer thinks it was a naturally occurring explosion - but rather one planned by an intelligent alien race. According to Vice, the conclusion of his latest paper says that nuclear isotopes in the atmosphere resembling hydrogen bomb tests 'may present an example of civilisation wiped out by a nuclear attack from space.' Earlier this week, physicist Dr John Brandenburg said he believes an ancient civilisation on Mars was wiped out by a nuclear attack from another alien race. He says there is evidence for two nuclear explosions on Mars (image from his paper shown) Advertisement

The orbiters continued imaging and, between Viking 1 and Viking 2, imaged the entire planet at what was then high resolution.

'Although no traces of life were found, Viking found all elements essential to life on Earth - carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen and phosphorus - were present on Mars,' said Nasa.

‘There are a few problems with Jackie's testimony,’ Nigel Watson, UFO expert, and author of the book Haynes, UFO Investigations Manual told MailOnline.

‘Firstly, the Viking landing craft did not send a live TV feed back to Earth, and as its name suggests it simply landed on the Martian surface, it did not have wheels like the latest Curiosity craft.

Her grasp of technological terms seems hazy and of course by remaining anonymous it is virtually 'impossible to know if she really worked for Nasa.’

The story does however strike a note with conspiracy theorists who believe that Nasa and other human agencies have secretly visited Mars and established colonies there.

'I wonder if you could solve a 27-year-old mystery for me,' she asked the presenter. 'That old Viking rover was running around. Then I saw two men in space suits - not the bulky suits we normally used, but they looked protective. They came over the horizon walking to the Viking Explorer'. Pictured is a view of Mars

‘Other conspiracy theorists who believe the moon landings were faked, note that Jackie might have inadvertently seen the fakery behind the Viking missions,’ said Mr Watson.

‘Officially, the two Viking landing craft touched down on Mars in 1976, but according to this viewpoint they were set up at a remote desert location and Jackie accidently saw a feed revealing this fakery.

‘The missions are faked to hide the real activity going on in outer space, which could include collaborating with aliens who already live on Mars.’

Jackie's claim follows a similarly bizarre theory by physicist Dr John Brandenburg who believes an ancient civilisation on Mars was wiped out by a nuclear attack from another alien race.

Dr Brandenburg says ancient Martians known as Cydonians and Utopians were massacred in the attack - and evidence of the genocide can still be seen today.

He claims his theory could explain the Fermi Paradox - namely why, if the universe is abundant with life, we haven't heard anything from anyone else yet.