NASA-UAP-D009, Apollo 17 Audio Excerpt, December 7, 1972

Official Conclusion

Crew speculated probable paint chips or ice chips from the Saturn S-IVB stage; no anomalous conclusion stated.

Official 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.

Key Findings

• →Apollo 17 crew observed small bright particles described as 'jagged' and 'angular' drifting near the spacecraft in cislunar space on December 7, 1972.
• →The particles were described as 'twinkling' and moving away from the Saturn S-IVB stage.
• →The crew spontaneously offered mundane explanations — paint chips or ice chips — as the probable source of the lights.
• →The observed objects were in proximity to the separated Saturn S-IVB stage, suggesting a spacecraft-origin debris source.
• →No official determination of anomalous origin was made; the crew's own explanation was prosaic.

Extracted Entities