Department of War PURSUE File
NASA-UAP-D009, Apollo 17 Audio Excerpt, December 7, 1972
Cislunar Space·12/7/72
Government description
During the eleventh and final crewed mission in the Apollo program, Apollo 17 Commander Gene Cernan, Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, and Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans report seeing small lights outside the Apollo spacecraft during transit to the moon. The crew describe bright “particles” or “fragments” as being “jagged,” “angular,” and drifting near the Apollo spacecraft and the separated Saturn S-IVB stage. The Apollo 17 crew speculate that paint chips or ice chips are likely the source of these lights and note that they “twinkle” and move away from the Saturn S-IVB stage.
Caption issued by the U.S. Department of War on war.gov/ufo. Verbatim, unedited.
Originating agency
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Record type
AUD
Incident date
12/7/72
Incident location
Cislunar Space
Release tranche
Release 02 (May 8, 2026)
Distribution
Cleared for public release