Excerpt from The Voice Of Venus by Ernest L. Norman:

“About 500,000 years ago, the people of Mars were commuting regularly with the earth by spacecraft. They had established a colony on the southern edge of what is now called the Gobi desert at the foothills of the Himalayan mountains. They were however set upon from time to time by savage bands of native earth-men who roamed about the earth at that time. In the last of these forays a large group of Martians barely escaped with their lives into the nearby hills where they remained hidden and lost to their countrymen who finally abandoned the idea of colonization on the earth. They were a peace loving people and although they had weapons at their disposal that would have annihilated these savage earth men, yet they refused to use them and so the earth swung in its orbit, unattended for several hundred thousand years until the coming of the Lemurians from the planet Lemuria which is about 700 light years (figured in our planetary system of light measurement) away from our solar system. You may wonder how these men traversed this vast distance without consuming the best part of their lives. It was through the principle of change of frequency relationship which enabled the spacecraft to travel through inner space at speeds approximately ten times that of your known speed of light (186,000 miles per second). Therefore the distance from Lemuria to our solar system could be traversed in a very small fraction of the time which you might assume would normally be necessary, in other words about 5 or 6 years. During this journey the ship was flown and controlled by a robot calculator. The eleven who occupied the ship remained in a state of suspended animation, something like a cataleptic hypnotic trance.

“It was about 160,000 years ago in your earth time that the great spacecraft crashed on the Gobi desert very close to where the Martians formerly lived. Inside were these eleven men on this craft which had come, as you have been told, from a planet much closer to the central vortex of the material universe and our own solar system. This was the planet Lemuria, about three times the size of the earth and warmed by the rays of a huge brilliant copper colored sun to which it was fairly close. The people of this planet are, compared to your earth people, of a very large and tall stature. They are also advanced in their spiritual evolution to a point which is about one-half way between the scientific plane of Mars and the spiritual plane of Venus. We had long been in telepathic communication with these people and it had been their first attempt with spacecraft at such vast distances which had ended so disastrously on earth. It had not been their desire to land on earth but rather on Venus, but they had been deflected from their true course by the strong magnetic field of a huge sun they passed on their journey here.

“You are all somewhat familiar with the story of Mu or Lemuria on your earth; and how the science of these eleven Masters or Supermen was handed down through the ages so that it became a vital science of that civilization you call Atlantea. It was the people of Atlantea who still used spacecraft and were, through the knowledge and use of the principle I have explained to you, able to float silently through the air in weightless craft which they propelled by using force beams or energy beams, using as their source of energy the magnetic fluxes which surround the earth. Near the close of this civilization there was a great deal of corruption which began to enter into a heretofore very wonderful way of life, and which was something like the Utopia which the philosophers are wont to talk about. It was at this time that an Avatar who was living on Venus, made a pilgrimage to Atlantea and there, after proving his Mastership by placing the flame of life upon a crystal clear quartz block which he materialized from energy, he ruled for the space of 428 days, during which time he wrote a book about life and placed it beneath the flame. It was his warning when he left that nothing should be taken from or added to this book or else Atlantea would perish. Your history will tell you the sad tale. Sometime after the disappearance of the Avatar, whom you call Christ, a group of Atlantean men, women and children wishing to preserve their way of life, escaped in a space craft to Mars. It was the descendents of these people which were contacted by your earth-man named Fry, as well as numerous others.”

Excerpt from The White Sands Incident by Daniel Fry regarding Mars:

“As I have said before: our ancestors were a group of survivors of the last complete collapse of civilization on this planet. This was more than thirty thousand years ago as you measure time today, but even then they had developed a material science which was, in some respects at least, considerably advanced over your present position. They followed the natural laws, instead of pitting one against the other as your science does, so that their devices were much simpler, and yet they could accomplish things which you have not yet been able to do. They, too, failed to realize the absolute necessity of an equal development of the spiritual and social values.

“A political and social cleft developed between the two principal nations of that era. Friction between the two increased yearly, until at last it exploded into a war of annihilation. Weapons of absolute energy were used by each nation against the other, weapons whose destructive power was a thousand times greater than that of the Hydrogen bomb which threatens your race today. There was no question of victory or defeat. They simply destroyed each other. There were few survivors and the radiation level of the entire surface of the planet had been raised beyond human tolerance. This did not mean that all survivors were doomed to immediate death from the radiation, but it did mean that progressive deterioration of the mental and biological functions, together with the large number of mutations which would be produced in succeeding generations, would, eventually, bring their level of existence down almost to that of the beast.

“On a high plateau, in what is now the country of Tibet, six of our aerial craft had been landed by their crews. A council was held to determine what, if anything, could be done.

“It was suggested that an attempt be made to reach another planet. The aerial craft then in use were capable of traveling in space and had been frequently used to reach elevations of a few hundred miles above the surface of the earth. However, no attempt had yet been made to leap the gulf between planets and the crew members were far from certain that such an attempt would prove successful.

“The planet, which you now know as Mars, was then in conjunction with the earth and, at that time, the surface conditions of temperature, atmosphere, water, etc., were much better suited for human survival than the conditions which your astronomers report to exist at the present time.

“A vote was taken and the members of the crews of four of the craft elected to take the huge gamble in the hope of preserving thereby, at least a portion of the culture of the race.

“The remaining crew members believed that because of the elevation of the plateau on which they were gathered and the comparatively low level of the radiation which existed there, that they could continue to live in this area without suffering complete physical or mental degeneration in themselves or their descendants. They elected to remain.

“Since I can see the question which is forming in your mind, I will explain that this race had achieved perfect equality of the sexes and both were about equally represented in this council. Of the four craft which essayed the great leap, three arrived safely at their destination. There is no record in our history as to the fate of the fourth.

“For many generations the grim struggle for survival demanded the entire time and energy of the people. These were the dark ages of the new race and we have comparatively little knowledge of this period. However, the original crew members, immediately after their arrival upon the new planet, compiled a carefully written history of the races of earth, pointing out the reasons for their downfall. Throughout the intervening centuries this history has been carefully preserved. It is known as The Great Lesson and is the first thing which is taught to all of our youth when they begin to prepare themselves for active life.

“As the battle for survival was gradually won, the development of the material science resumed its normal pattern but with the lessons of the past constantly before our people, it was maintained always in its proper relationship to the social and spiritual values. We have found that all three of the sciences have the same basic natural laws and we have come far in their understanding.

“We are now essentially independent of planets. Some of our craft are very large, judged by your standards. They are many times the size of your largest ships. We are able to produce all of the necessities and comforts of our physical lives within these craft and since we have mastered the problem of energy, we have no personal need to land upon any of the planets, except occasionally to obtain raw material for new construction.”

What Caused The Inhabitants Of Mars To Go Underground?

Excerpt from The Truth About Mars by Ernest L. Norman:

“In case some of you are wondering just as I did, what caused his people to go underground and why they do not migrate to some other planet since they have all the necessary craft to do so. Nur El (Martian guide) explained all this by first saying that Mars was, up until about 100,000 years ago, a planet very similar to the earth. There was air, water, and an abundance of plant and animal life. The cities flourished on the surface just as ours do. At that time, through their occult science and also with their superior telescopes they saw, somewhere out in space, a cataclysm take place. One of the giant suns suddenly went berserk, flared up like a nova and then exploded in a terrific blinding flash. Huge chunks hurtled out into space in different directions, each one a smaller, white-hot, atomically-burning sun, shooting off great streamers of atomic energies. It was determined by calculations, that one of these fiery pieces would pass very close to our solar system. As it was larger than our own sun, it was conceivable that there would be tremendous gravitational pull, besides giving off great energies. It was also determined, as light traveled much faster in space than this huge chunk, that it would pass our solar system. This therefore gave the Martians a grace period for preparation. They had, however, a choice: to stay on Mars or to migrate to another planet far away from this solar system. After a search of the nearby, practical limits of the heavens, it was found that there was no other planet available which would be suitable. So an alternative was decided upon. They could build huge cities underground! During the next two hundred years or so, an almost frantic building program was assiduously pursued. We can well imagine some of the problems, the sacrifices, and the labor and research which went into this tremendous project, but it was finally accomplished. In due time all was snug and ship-shape as possible. Buried deep under many feet of rock and earth, in their newly constructed dome-like cities, the people of Mars waited for the final hours. Day by day they watched the white glowing mass of light grow larger and larger. There was no really accurate way by which to measure how close it would pass or just how hot it would be. No doubt many thought it would be the end!

“Finally the hour struck. Nur El stated that for eight days the planet was rocked, torn and twisted as great forces blasted and ripped the surface. Plant and animal life disappeared almost entirely, except for the few species which escaped by being buried in caves. The air and water too, were largely dissipated or drawn off with the passing nova. When it was over, Mars was decimated and burned to a cinder.

“Other planets also suffered. On earth there were great earthquakes and tidal waves. A great continent and civilization, called Lemuria, sank beneath the sea. Great deserts were burned into the surface in places which were formerly beautiful forests and plains. The Sahara and Gobi deserts were two of these. Earth’s orbit and axis (or the poles) were also changed. Instead of a circular orbit Earth was rocked into an elliptical orbit, with the addition of a very slight but definite wobble or oscillation, which it has never lost. Uranus was pushed out into an orbit much further away from the sun. Neptune suffered a similar fate although not quite so pronounced. It is conceivable that the other planets were also affected according to their size and position at the time of the passing of this huge celestial “atom bomb.” No doubt the knowledge of this cataclysm will clear up some of the mysteries of Earth’s history which have been puzzling the seekers of truth for many years.”

Currently On Mars:

“Arriving on the surface of Mars, we are at once aware of the extremely rugged terrain, rocky hills and sandy wastes, that stretches out endlessly around us. There are many peculiar whirling dust clouds all about. Nur El explains that the ionosphere is very thin which leaves the surface almost unprotected from the various beta, gamma and cosmic rays. This high concentration of rays ionizes the very rare and gaseous atmosphere and together with thermal currents, creates terrific dust storms. There is also a very thinly divided dust layer on the ionosphere which helps create the reddish appearance of the planet. There are also a number of volcanoes, three of which are of major size; one of these was just barely visible on the horizon trailing a thin wisp of smoke from its truncated cone. It was also explained that as Mars has only seven degrees axis inclination there is not much of a seasonal change. Water is very scarce on this arid planet; most of the precipitation falls at the poles. Vegetation is also scarce. There are a few varieties of prickly-cacti looking plants. Also near the polar ice caps, grows a very luxuriant green alga-like plant that follows the melting snow line. This spongy growth often attains a height (or depth) of forty to fifty feet. It appears and disappears with the season as it grows tremendously rapidly, and it also disintegrates very fast.

“There are also a number of species of lizards, reptiles and of some insects whose hard shells have enabled them to weather the extreme atmospheric conditions and among them are giant ants which walk semi-erect on the two hind feet. The guide tells me these are mutants which were accidentally produced from a small ant in an atomic experiment ages ago. They are similar to humans in a very low state of intelligence and at one time it became necessary to make war on them, as they became so numerous and large. These strange ant creatures average two to four feet in height and live in rocky caves.” ~ The Truth About Mars

Could these mutants be what the Curiosity and other rovers are seeing on Mars?

Here are just a few recent NASA Images that would seem to confirm this:
See more here.